What is the ruling on listening to music in Islamic law; is it prohibited, and how can one give it up?

Many scholars have reported the scholarly consensus on the prohibition of listening to music and musical instruments. One can rid oneself of listening to them by frequently remembering Allah, reciting the Qur'an, and abandoning sins and transgressions, because obedience repels disobedience and brings forth other acts of obedience, and because one sin brings forth another. It must be known that the love of music expels the love of the Qur'an from the heart; indeed, the two do not coexist, for the Qur'an is the word of the Most Merciful, and music is the devil's flute.