Recordings › In Depth: Is Music allowed in Islam? | Mufti Abu Layth · 18 Sep 2019 › Segment 5 of 12
Who has the authority to declare music haram if God has not?
hadeeth ahadith ahaadeeth hadis hadees ahaadith sahih saheeh sahih hadith saheeh hadith sound hadith masjid masjed masaajid masajid muftis hukm ahkam hukum hukam ahkaam halaal permitted lawful haraam forbidden ayah aya ayat ayaat aayah aayat ulama ulema ulamaa deen al-din ad-deen ad-dinWho can declare music haram? 'I remembered I wasn't God', the verse on attributing falsehood, and the strip-club objection
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This segment22:21 to 26:09 · 3 min 48 sGeneral teaching
The answer in brief
machinesummary, machine-writtenGod has not made music haram and neither Mufti Abu Layth nor the scholars have the authority to do so: the authentic hadith speak of entertainment, which could mean many things, and the scholars' prohibition is their own interpretation. Those who dislike music need not listen to it, but it is allowed.
In more detail
Mufti Abu Layth says he did think of ruling music with bad lyrics haram but then remembered he was not God: it is audacity to think one can change God's law because one thinks something is bad, as if God did not know His people, and he cites the verse forbidding people to say 'this is halal and this is haram' and so attribute falsehood to Allah. He repeats that there is no single conclusive and clear hadith prohibiting music; there are plenty of hadith, but they are not authentic, and the authentic ones use words like entertainment, not music. An audience member asks about strip clubs and nightclubs; Mufti replies that entertainment can take many forms, so why must the word mean music, and that he never said it did. Pressed, he asks the questioner the same question back: has God made music haram? When the answer is no, he says the case is closed. Scholars, he accepts, said it is haram through their judgment, either because of their ontology of religion or because they felt it leads to mischief, but that is interpretation. He says he does not see the big deal: if you do not like it, do not do it, but it is allowed, and jokes that unless God sends him an update by text message he will stand by that.
Question as read aloud · questioner not identifiedHow about strip clubs and nightclubs; has God not made music haram?
- The question was reconstructed from Mufti Abu Layth's restatement; the questioner's own words are not in the recording
Position stated
Mufti Abu Layth says God has not made music haram, so no one may make it haram, since the authentic hadith speak of entertainment rather than music and the scholars who prohibited it did so by their own interpretation.
“so if God didn't make it Haram who are we to make it Haram”
Category: ruling
Kind: general teachingTranscript
machine22:21 to 26:09 · click a time to seek · dotted terms open the glossary
they know what's wrong they look if they can talk about biote they can listen to it and they know this is wrong they know that's wrong so if that answers if that answers that but I don't think like to say so for example music is okay but all hip-hop music is Haram like I don't think that that's that that wouldn't make sense do taking that like music is to do with the music it's not to do with the words that's a separate matter
obviously if somebody's say it's Haram you see I did think that but I did think of giving that ruling but then I just remembered that I wasn't God you see this is the this is the audacity that we think we can change God's law because we think it's bad how about do you think God doesn't know his people so if God didn't make it Haram who are we to make it Haram Allah says what a typhoon really matters in for alternative
communicative harder halal Mahathir Haram tough Haruna I don't like it but you are attributing falsehood to God you're saying this is Haram he never said it's Haram no no I made it very clear that there is no single conclusive and clear hadith at all to probably there's plenty of hadith to say music is Haram but they're not authentic and this the authentic hadith which don't use the word music they use words like
entertainment so people then say oh boy entertainment he the Prophet met music but that's not what he said this isn't in turn I mean there's no two ways about that that isn't inter way how about a strip club how about clubs nightclubs how about places like how the entertainment could be many fun so I mean why does entertainment have to be music no I never said that you asked me does God declare music Haram I said in my reading God does not do that
he said that to you then okay has you tell me has God made it her own music harem no I never asked you what you think I said has God made it I never asked you what you think I think has God made it huh not Scully's has God clearly made it hot fair enough case case closed that what we're saying is God didn't make it Haram scholars through their judgment I accept many scholars have said it's Haram but I told you why they said that
they said it because you had an ontology of religion okay true all they said it because they feel it leads people to whatever mischeif which words so it's interpretation so it's an interpretation
okay don't listen to it I don't care what the big deal you know when people ask these questions I don't get the big deal because look if you don't like it don't do it it is allowed last time I checked unless if God sends me an update text message I'll tweet it but I mean till then right I'll just I'll wait on I'll wait on let me just check is there no updates up until yet come on I got
broadband now to say sorry what's that got to do with music so you're saying okay now there's a question now you see you're asking me is incitement your question is is speaking about alcohol Haram you're asking me this like so it is writing power lyrics about alcohol Haram and the answer is no it isn't because this was being read in the prophet's mosque in front of the Prophet and that's in Sahil Bihari
Paragraphs overlapping 22:21 to 26:09. Full text on the recording page.
Cite this segment
Stable id, transcript version and tier are part of the citation. Every change to a transcript is logged.Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment 2019-09-18-S05, auto-transcribed, may contain errors. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/axxub9lxfoc/s/5/ (accessed 1 November 2026)
- APA 7
Mufti Abu Layth. (2019, September 18). Who has the authority to declare music haram if God has not? [Video, segment 2019-09-18-S05, auto-transcribed, may contain errors]. Mufti Abu Layth Archive. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://muftiabulayth.org/r/axxub9lxfoc/s/5/
- Chicago author-date
Mufti Abu Layth. 2019. "Who has the authority to declare music haram if God has not?" Video, segment 2019-09-18-S05, auto-transcribed, may contain errors. Mufti Abu Layth Archive. Recorded September 18, 2019. Accessed November 1, 2026. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/axxub9lxfoc/s/5/
- BibTeX
@misc{abulayth-2019-09-18-S05, author = {Mufti Abu Layth}, title = {{Who has the authority to declare music haram if God has not?}}, year = {2019}, month = {9}, date = {2019-09-18}, howpublished = {\url{https://muftiabulayth.org/r/axxub9lxfoc/s/5/}}, url = {https://muftiabulayth.org/r/axxub9lxfoc/s/5/}, organization = {Mufti Abu Layth Archive}, urldate = {2026-11-01}, note = {Segment 2019-09-18-S05, auto-transcribed, may contain errors} }
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