By Arif Kabir
In Sahih Al-Bukhari, it mentions that the Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wa sallam),
“From among my followers there will be some people who will consider illegal sexual intercourse, the wearing of silk, the drinking of alcoholic drinks and the use of musical instruments, as lawful.”
Nowadays, this Hadith is most often used in the debates regarding the permissibility of music in Islam. However, most people do not reflect on the whole Hadith and observe that all the signs have become commonplace among ‘followers’, as indicated by the Hadith, of Allah and His Prophet. Insha’Allah, we will be looking at all of the signs mentioned in the Hadith and note some real-day examples of these signs.
1. Music - I am sure that we have all witnessed this debate, of whether or not music is permissible or not in Islam, at some point in our lives. For those of you who may not know or believe that it is a ‘grey area’ with proofs on both sides, music is clearly Haraam, as shown by the Hadith and numerous other evidences. This has always been agreed upon until fairly recently, when some started to advocate for its permissibility. Of course, as the Hadith indicates, we know that some will eventually consider it to be lawful. Currently, the most prominent ‘Islamic music’ advocate, dubbed by TIME Magazine as ‘Islam’s Biggest Rock Star’, is Sami Yusuf. On his blog, he states that,
“I created records that were unthinkable by certain Islamic scholars, creating a new market among Muslims of all ages who were not permitted to listen to any popular music without incurring the wrath of family, friends and certain religious authorities.” Sitting there at the piano or violin, I never considered whether it was brave or stupid… …to create music no-one had ever created before … in a genre that didn’t exist …to a market which had never bought a pop record before.
Sounds pretty stupid right!
Yes, I’m sorry, but that sounds very stupid. To go against the very fundamentals and core of our religion, to create ‘records’ unthinkable by the majority of scholars, and then to blame parents fot ‘incurring their wrath’ when they are trying to make their children stay on the Straight Path… Very stupid indeed.
Picture by Haroon Q. Mohamoud via Flickr, who says Sami Yusuf was "accompanied by an orchestra of percussion, string, wind and vocal instruments...
An interesting thing to note here by the way, is that for his first album, Al-Mu’allim, it was categorized as an Islamic Nasheed and thus confused and confounded thousands of Muslim youth. However, that deceptive marketing has come to an end. For the recent album, My Ummah, this is what the publishers have to say,
“Following al-Mu’allim came the groundbreaking, genre-defining album, My Ummah. Moving on from al-Mu’allim it was no longer ‘percussive’ or ‘anasheed’ orientated. Musically, it combined several different genres, perfectly blending into one another and exposing the listener to some truly powerful pieces of music.”
Yes, we hear you loud and clear. You have created a new genre, a genre that has made the use of musical instruments lawful. May Allah guide us all…
2. Alcohol – I went to a Muslim family’s house one day and they offered us food and a wine bottle. Yes, a wine bottle. Oh, but it was “alcohol-free.” Let us examine what that actually means:
By Plindberg via Flickr: "Non-Alcoholic Beer"
On Wikipedia, under the topic of low-alcohol beer, it states that,
Although labeled as non-alcoholic, some beers may still contain small amounts of alcohol; as a result, some American states prohibit their sale to minors and even to young adults.
In the United Kingdom, by government regulations, “alcohol-free” drinks are categorized into the following three categories:
Alcohol-free: Contains 0.05% alcohol or less
De-alcoholised: Contains 0.5% alcohol or less
Low-alcohol: contains more than 0.5% but no more than 1.2%
As one can easily see, there is actually alcohol in these so-called “alcohol-free” drinks!
While researching this topic, I came across this article:
“There are bar snacks, quiz nights, snooker tables and blaring music.
But if you fancy a beer you’ve come to the wrong pub.
The Halal Inn is open for non-alcoholic business only.”
A Halal pub?! That’s like saying a Halal Christmas tree or ‘Islamic Idol’ (which has sadly already begun)! There is a clear Hadith that mentions,
“Whoever resembles a people is one of them.”(Recorded by Abu Dawud)
I ask any fair-minded individual – if we are going around having Muslim pubs and trumping around with ‘non-alcoholic wine bottles’, are we not resembling a certain type of people?
3. Silk (for men) – Is silk ties allowed as we’re not exactly wearing them and they’re above our shirts? That is a question that is asked in many online Fatwa websites.
By Purolipan via Flickr
The answer is a resounding ‘no’ for men as the Prophet clearly said,
“Do not wear silk, for those who wear it in this life shall not wear it in the Hereafter.” (Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim)
On certain sites, however, they believe it’s permissible to wear it as “decorative objects” and not dresses. On a Shi’a website, it stated that:
“And there is similarly no problem in using it [100% silk] for waist-band…lace/braid…even the inner-linning of suits, etc.
In Ahmad, Abu Dawud, An-Nasaa’i, and Ibn Majah, it has been reported that:
`Ali [a Sahabi that the Shia' especially venerate!] reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took some silk in his right hand and some gold in his left, declaring, “These two are haram for the males among my followers.”
And yet, we actually see people selling “Islamic Silk Ties“…
There is a Hadith of the Prophet in which he mentions,
Leave that about which you are in doubt for that about which you are in no doubt. (At-Tirmidhi)
Every sin is a stepping stone for another one, so let’s not even try getting near the forbidden and doubtful matters. Instead of buying silk ties, there are better alternatives to this, such as Jaan J., a Muslim company that sells luxury satin ties.
4. Adultery/Fornication – In Surah Isra, Ayah 32, it states,”
“And come not near to unlawful sexual intercourse. Verily, it is a faahishah (a great sin) and an evil way.”
Imaam al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The ulama said that the phrase And come not near to unlawful sexual intercourse is more eloquent than merely saying Do not commit zinaa, because the meaning is, Do not even come close to zinaa. This means not doing any deed that may get close to zinaa or lead to it, such as being alone with a member of the opposite sex, touching, looking, going to evil places, speaking in a haraam manner to a woman to whom one is not related, thinking about and planning immoral acts, and so on.
With these proofs and so many others, I couldn’t even conceive how one could legitimize illegal sexual intercourse outside of marriage. Therefore, I was very much shocked when I read on Newsweek that,
One recent Gallup poll found that more than 30 percent of French Muslims were ready to accept homosexuality, compared with zero in Britain. Almost half of French Muslims believed sex between unmarried people was morally acceptable, compared with 27 percent of German Muslims.
50 percent of French Muslims believe that Zina is acceptable?! That amounts to more than 2,000,000 Muslims!
As we can see, the Prophet’s Hadith has come true, and has left no space for doubt. May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala help us to stay away from the doubtful matters, and keep on His Straight Path. Ameen…
MYM Discussion