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What is the ruling on singing with music, whether non-lewd or religious, while observing prayer and avoiding prohibitions? And is there a clear text prohibiting it in the Quran or Sunnah?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Singing is of different types: If it includes musical instruments and amusement (music), then listening to it is forbidden for both men and women by consensus. They cite evidence from the Quran and Sunnah, including the Almighty's saying: (And among the people is he who buys Lahw al-Hadith [idle talk] to mislead [others] from the way of Allah without knowledge, and takes it in ridicule. Those will have a humiliating punishment) and the Hadith: "There will be people from my nation who will consider unlawful sexual intercourse, silk, intoxicants, and musical instruments to be lawful." The duff (tambourine) is an exception for women during Eids and weddings, provided the lyrics are wholesome. If it is without instruments: If it is a woman singing to men, it is forbidden. It is permissible for women to sing among themselves with wholesome lyrics on occasions like weddings. If it is a man singing: With wholesome lyrics that call to good: A group permitted it, while others disliked it. The correct view is that beneficial poetry is permissible. With obscene lyrics that call to vice: It is forbidden.

Listening to songs is based on their ruling. What is forbidden to listen to is forbidden, and what is permissible to listen to is permissible. However, excessive listening is not commendable.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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