Music in worship

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Music is one of the greatest arts that human beings have created and enjoyed since the creation of the world. In a sense it is a universal language without words for all nations and ages. Most of us remember great composers such as Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and so on. As we listen to the songs composed by these great musicians, they tend to bring the beauty of nature closer to us. Personally I do not like loud wild music or some other music promoting self-pity and immorality. Besides this kind of unhealthy music, I believe music is a great art that God allowed us to enjoy. This is even more so in the context of worshipping God. Every morning I wake up early to have a personal worship time with God for about 30 minutes. All I do during this time is praising God with song and music. Actually this is the best time every day and my great joy from this worship carries me through the whole day. When good lyrics (often prayers) are combined with good music, the synergy effect is explosive. Psalms are well known songs in the Bible many believers such as King David enjoyed greatly in worshiping God. As an example, I write you the last psalm to show you how it is like.

Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre,
Praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute,
Praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.(Psalms 150:1-6)

If I am not mistaken, however, I was told that music is discouraged or even banned in Islam. Is it true?
 
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From what I can tell, people differ on the matter. It seems like most people on this board feel that music is forbidden though.

I've personally seen very intelligent Muslims argue both sides, and I don't really understand why or how music as a whole can be forbidden. However, I still don't really listen to it for a number of different reasons.
 
Peace,

We don't need Music to worship Allah swt. Music distracts the heart and mind, and brings an unrealistic spirit.
 
Tyrion said:
From what I can tell, people differ on the matter. It seems like most people on this board feel that music is forbidden though.

I've personally seen very intelligent Muslims argue both sides, and I don't really understand why or how music as a whole can be forbidden. However, I still don't really listen to it for a number of different reasons.
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I have heard very differing opinions also.

Some people say "no" to all. (Actually, most seem to be in this camp.)

Some say that certain instruments were allowable. (I forget which ones. I think there were 3 of them. Perhaps someone can share.)

Some say that music is not allowed, but if the lyrics are worshiping God then they are allowable.

I can completely understand and agree with the reasoning behind why music is not permissible.... but not in a blanket statement way, since not all music would fall within that. Singing is a form of music, it is making music with the mouth, and even the Qur'an is sung in recitations. So, in that sense, not all music can be considered forbidden.

I, like the opening poster, often use music in my worship to God. I walk around the house singing praise songs while I do housework even.
 
Like Pouring Rain I find singing songs which glorify and praise God a great way of dedicating my time and myself to God.

I hold a key to our local church, because I go there quite regularly to clean or tidy one thing or another, and I particularly love being there all alone, singing my heart out!
 
Christians have made ibadaah (worship) entertainment in thier religion, there is a need of entertainment but we muslim do not agree with singing and dancing in the mosque

there is a need of entertainment of everyone but worship is worship, we dont have any singing in our mosque but we have many things which fills our heart
like how we stand shoulder to shoulder in salaah and arrange ourselves and bow down and prostrate at the same time.

and in haj when u see millions of people doing the same thing, i personally feel how deprived we would be if we never had such things in our worship

we dont have so much of music and singing in our worship but allah had blessed with this kind of worship

and then we have concept of ramadan in which u have to fast and break the fast, whole concept is so beautiful, we would really be deprived without all this.
 
Runaway said:
Peace,

We don't need Music to worship Allah swt. Music distracts the heart and mind, and brings an unrealistic spirit.
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That must depend on the music, surely... not all music is 'singing and dancing'! Wrong religion sure, but something like Bach's St Matthew Passion is about as close to God/ultimate reality as art can take you. I don't believe there is a God, of course, but the idea that if there was He would gift composers like Mozart, Bach and Beethoven with the genius they had to produce something forbidden just seems utterly absurd.
 
why would the melodious voice of someone along with the music instruments make one closer to god? why would any of those factors have any bearance (sp?) of our worship of god. i personally find melodious voices and instruments can be rather annoying and i cant figure out how such disruption can me feel closer to god.
 
One positive thing about music + worship is that music tends to stir up emotions and songs about something like God's praise might stir up the appropriate emotions one would like to feel towards God. Something like a love song except about God and more...appropriate in content :)

Music is an interesting phenomenon.
 
As I mentioned, one of the greatest worshippers in history, King David, enjoyed worshipping God with musical instruments. Numerous Christians have also shared the same experience. Human beings are not robots and there are always some people who do not have the same view. Perhaps some Christians prefer worshiping God without music. I have no problem with that. You may belong to this class of people. But it should not justify that all music must be forbidden in worshiping God. For instance, some people do not like riding a car. Even tens of thousands of people are killed in car accidents each year. Then do we have to ban all cars on the street? When good lyrics or prayers are combined with good music, many (if not all) believers have enjoyed greatly worshipping God. I am one of them.
 
truth finder said:
As I mentioned, one of the greatest worshippers in history, King David, enjoyed worshipping God with musical instruments. Numerous Christians have also shared the same experience. Human beings are not robots and there are always some people who do not have the same view. Perhaps some Christians prefer worshiping God without music. I have no problem with that. You may belong to this class of people. But it should not justify that all music must be forbidden in worshiping God. For instance, some people do not like riding a car. Even tens of thousands of people are killed in car accidents each year. Then do we have to ban all cars on the street? When good lyrics or prayers are combined with good music, many (if not all) believers have enjoyed greatly worshipping God. I am one of them.
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You have to think - when your listening to Music are worshipping the music or God? Music can give you a five minute emotional rush - then its over. The love of God is always there for anyone that believes in God with a tune or not.

I think one thing we can all agree on is that Music is definitly not needed to get close to God - that can be done in many ways - as for Muslims the Quran and sunnah are the best things to stick with rather then these grey areas.
 
Insecured soul said:
Christians have made ibadaah (worship) entertainment in thier religion, there is a need of entertainment but we muslim do not agree with singing and dancing in the mosque
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I don't know if it's just me, but there is something weird about busting a move and shaking your hips and bottoms infront of the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth <_<

I feel awkward doing that infront of my family, how much more Him? :embarrass
 
islamaholic™;1376862 said:
I don't know if it's just me, but there is something weird about busting a move and shaking your hips and bottoms infront of the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth
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Most likely it was left over from pagan practices.

They danced and sang to their gods.
 
In Islam, we glorify and praise Allah without music.

We don't need any extraneous things to pray or worship, or to somehow attempt to make it more enjoyable for us.

We concentrate on what we are saying, the beautiful words we say in praise are far more meaningful than any music can ever be...

We praise and glorify Allah from the minute we are conscious when waking, to the last moments before we sleep, when going about our daily business we glorify and praise the Lord, even when entering or leaving the lavatory, we praise Allah for having relieved us.

Music is used in many other settings, and the use of music in worship would not be as something done especially for God. e.g. it is used in discos and nightclubs too, and even though it may be a different type of music, it is still music. In Islam, we prostrate to Allah in our five daily prayers, an act of submission and humility, reserved strictly for Allah only.

Indeed music can lead to inappropriate behaviour. Even in some churches, you see undignified behaviour with people waving their arms, and jumping and shouting and wiggling body parts.

The recitation of the Qur'an has moved grown men to tears, not only in it's meaning, but it's sound. Kate Humble from the BBC was moved to tears when she heard the adhaan (call to prayer) echoing from the minarets of Jeddah.

We worship Allah with a combination of love, hope and fear. We glorify Him, exalt His Majesty, and praise Him, and ask Him for our worldly needs, and for success in the hereafter, with full presence of heart and mind. No music is needed to either praise Him or to add to our enjoyment of our worship. No music, nothing else in the background, just us and Him. The words themselves, the silence in between the words, captures something that no music ever can or will.

Peace.
 
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There's something wrong if you need music to move you and get close to god.
It actually reminds me of those people in ancient times and even today who needed drugs to be in a state where they feel very close to god.
 
naidamar said:
There's something wrong if you need music to move you and get close to god.
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Why do you think it is wrong, naidamar?
It may be different from how you get close to God, but does that necessarily make it wrong?

I have seen people striving to draw closer to God in many different ways:
Some seek solace and quiet, others seek the company of fellow believers; some pray out loud, some sit silently; some sing, others don't; some move as they feel comfortable, others move and pray in unison within a group; some come to a place of worship, others stay at home, others again seek to be outdoors ...

So many different ways.
Which are right and which are wrong, and who makes that judgement?
 
glo said:
I have seen people striving to draw closer to God in many different ways:
Some seek solace and quiet, others seek the company of fellow believers; some pray out loud, some sit silently; some sing, others don't; some move as they feel comfortable, others move and pray in unison within a group; some come to a place of worship, others stay at home, others again seek to be outdoors ...
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I see. From your explanation, i can only conclude that for you, any way is a good way as long as it draws people to god.
Based on this, I guess you approve some people who claim they get closer to god when they are having sex with other people's partners, or when they get naked and holding hands singing and dancing while high on marijuana, etc etc
I have seen/read news on how those cults pray, glo. Those people too do claim they get closer to god while they were doing things I mentioned above or worse.
And please don't say they do the wrong thing.
Because, who are we to judge?
(sorry can't resist using a variation of your favorite phrase, you don't mind do you)

glo said:
So many different ways.
Which are right and which are wrong, and who makes that judgement?
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Great, so you agree with those pagans who use fire dance and worship a cow because they truly believe it draws them to god.
Is your view regarding using any way to draw us closer to god just your personal view, or is it the view of christianity?

I just hope you are not one of those many christians who says one thing, but whats in their heart is the opposite.

a question to you:

Did Jesus sway his hips, shake his bootay and dance and and sang to instrumental music when he was praying to and worshipping his god?
 
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