living islam _ Islamic tradition

All Music Haram? I don't think that was the view of Imam Ghazalli. Please
read his words below.
Wassallam
Sajid Iqbal

CONCERNING MUSIC AND DANCING
AS AIDS TO THE RELIGIOUS LIFE
By Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazalli
Chapter 5. Alchemy of Happiness
The heart of man has been so constituted by the Almighty that, like a flint,
it contains a hidden fire which is evoked by music and harmony, and renders
man beside himself with ecstasy. These harmonies are echoes of that higher
world of beauty which we call the world of spirits; they remind man of his
relationship to that world, and produce in him an emotion so deep and
strange that he himself is powerless to explain it. The effect of music and
dancing is deeper in proportion as the natures on which they act are simple
and prone to motion; they fan into a flame whatever love is already dormant
in the heart, whether It be earthly and sensual, or divine and spiritual.
Accordingly there has been much dispute among theologians as to the
lawfulness of music and dancing regarded as religious exercises. One sect,
the Zahirites, [1] holding that God is altogether incommensurable with man,
deny the possibility of man's really feeling love to God, and say that he
can only love those of his own species. If he does feel what he thinks is
love to his Creator they say it is a mere projection, or shadow cast by his
own fantasy, or a reflection of love to the creature; music and dancing,
according to them, have only to do with creature love, and are therefore
unlawful as religious exercises. If we ask them what is the meaning of that
"love to God" which is enjoined by the religious law, they reply that it
means obedience and worship. This is an error which we hope to confute in a
later chapter dealing with the love of God. At present we content ourselves
with saying that music and dancing do not put into the heart what is not
there already, but only fan into a flame dormant emotions. Therefore if a
man has in his heart that love to God which the law enjoins, it is perfectly
lawful, nay, laudable in him to take part in exercises which promote it. On
the other hand, if his heart is full of sensual desires, music and dancing
will only increase them, and are therefore unlawful for him. While, if he
listens to them merely as a matter of amusement, they are neither lawful nor
unlawful, but indifferent. For the mere fact that they are pleasant does not
make them unlawful any more than the pleasure of listening to the singing of
birds or looking at green grass and running water is unlawful. The innocent
character of music and dancing, regarded merely as a pastime, is also
corroborated by an authentic tradition which we have from the Lady Ayesha,
[2] who narrates: "One festival day some Negroes were performing in a
mosque. The Prophet said to me, 'Do you wish to see them?' I replied, 'Yes.'
Accordingly he lifted me up with his own blessed hand, and I looked on so
long that he said more than once, 'Have not you had enough of watching?"
Another authentic tradition narrates what follows: "One festival day two
girls came to my house and began to play and sing. The Prophet came in and
lay down on the couch turning his face away. Presently Abu Bakr [3] entered,
and seeing the girls playing, exclaimed, 'What! the pipe of Satan in the
Prophet's house!' Whereupon the Prophet turned and said, 'Let them alone,
Abu Bakr, for this is a festival day'."
Passing over the cases where music and dancing rouse into a flame evil
desires already dormant in the heart, we come to those cases where they are
quite lawful. Such are those of the pilgrims who celebrate the glories of
the House of God at Mecca in song, and thus incite others to go on
pilgrimage, and of minstrels whose music and songs stir up martial ardour in
the breasts of their auditors and incite them to fight against infidels.
Similarly, mournful music which excites sorrow for sin and failure in
religious life is lawful; of this nature was the music of David. But dirges
which increase sorrow for the dead are not lawful, for it is written in the
Koran, "Despair not over what you have lost." On the other hand, joyful
music at weddings and feasts and on such occasions as a circumcision or the
return from a journey is lawful.
We come now to the purely religious use of music and dancing: such is that
of who by this means stir up in themselves greater love towards God, and, by
means of music, often obtain spiritual visions and ecstasies, their heart
becoming in this condition as clean as silver in the flame of a furnace, and
attaining a degree of purity which could never be attained by any amount of
mere outward austerities. The Sufi then becomes so keenly aware of his
relationship to the spiritual world that he loses all consciousness of this
world, and often falls down senseless.
It is not, however, lawful for the aspirant to Sufism to take part in this
mystical dancing without the permission of his "Pir," or spiritual director.
It is related of the Sheikh Abu'l Qasim Girgani that, when one of his
disciples requested leave to take part in such a dance, he said, "Keep a
strict fast for three days; then let them cook for you tempting dishes; if
then, you still prefer the "dance," you may take part in it." The disciple,
however, whose heart is not thoroughly purged from earthly desires, though
he may have obtained some glimpse of the Mystics' path, should be forbidden
by his director to take part in such dances, as they will do him more harm
than good.
Those who deny the reality of the ecstasies and other spiritual experiences
of the Sufis merely betray their own narrow mindedness and shallow insight.
Some allowance, however, must be made for them, for it is as, difficult to
believe in the reality of states of which one has no personal experience as
it is for a blind man to understand the pleasure of looking at green grass
and running water, or for a child to comprehend the pleasure of exercising
sovereignty. A wise man, though he himself may have no experience of those
states, will not therefore deny their reality, for what folly can be greater
than his who denies the reality of a thing merely because he himself has not
experienced it! Of such people it is written in the Koran, "Those who have
not the guidance will say, 'This is a manifest imposture.'"
As regards the erotic poetry which is recited in Sufi gatherings, and to
which people sometimes make objection, we must remember that, when in such
poetry mention is made of separation from or union with the beloved, the
Sufi, who is an adept in the love of God, applies such expressions to
separation from or union with Him. Similarly, "dark locks" are taken to
signify the darkness of unbelief; "the brightness of the face," the light of
faith, and "drunkenness" the Sufi's ecstasy. Take, for instance, the verse:

By this the writer means that the true delights of religion cannot be
reached by way of formal instruction, but by felt attraction and desire. A
man may converse much and write volumes concerning love, faith, piety, and
so forth, and blacken paper to any extent, but till he himself possesses
these attributes all this will do him no good. Thus, those who find fault
with the Sufis for being powerfully affected, even to ecstasy, by these and
similar verses, are merely shallow and uncharitable. Even camels are
sometimes so powerfully affected by the Arab songs of their drivers that
they will run rapidly, bearing heavy burdens, till they fall down in a state
of exhaustion.
The Sufi hearer, however, is in danger of blasphemy if he applies some of
the verses which he hears to God. For instance, if he hears such a verse as
"Thou art changed from thy former inclination," he must not apply it to God,
who cannot change, but to himself and his own variations of mood. God is
like the sun, which is always shining, but sometimes for us His light is
eclipsed by some object which intervenes between us and Him.
Regarding some adepts, it is related that they attain to such a degree of
ecstasy that they lose themselves in God. Such was the case with Sheikh
Abu'l Hassan Nuri, who, on hearing a certain verse, fell into an ecstatic
condition, and, coming into a field full of stalks of newly cut sugar-cane,
ran about till his feet were wounded and bleeding, and not long afterwards,
expired. In such cases some have supposed that there occurs an actual
descent of Deity into humanity, but this would be as great a mistake as that
of one who, having for the first time seen his reflection in a mirror should
suppose that, somehow or other, he had become incorporated with the mirror,
or that the red and white hues which the mirror reflects were qualities
inherent in it.
The states of ecstasy into which the Sufis fall vary according to the
emotions which predominate in them -- love, fear, desire, repentance, etc.
These states, as we have mentioned above, are often the result not only of
hearing verses of the Koran, but erotic poetry. Some have objected to the
reciting of poetry, as well as of the Koran, on these occasions; but it
should be remembered that all the verses of the Koran are not adapted to
stir the emotions - such, for instance, as that which commands that a man
should leave his mother the sixth part of his property and his sister the
half, or that which orders that a widow must wait four months after the
death of her husband before becoming espoused to another man. The natures
which can be thrown into religious ecstasy by the recital of such verses are
peculiarly sensitive and very rare.
Another reason for the use of poetry as well as of the Koran on these
occasions is that people are so familiar with the Koran, many even knowing
it by heart, that the effect of it has been dulled by constant repetition.
One cannot be always quoting new verses of the Koran as one can of poetry.
Once, when some wild Arabs were hearing the Koran or the first time and were
strongly moved by it, Abu Bakr said to them, "We were once like you, but our
hearts have grown hard," meaning that the Koran loses some of its effect on
those familiar with it. For the same reason the Caliph Omar used to command
the pilgrims to Mecca to leave it quickly. "For," he said, "I fear if you
grow too familiar with the Holy City the awe of it will depart from your
hearts."
There is, moreover, something pertaining to the light and frivolous, at
least in the eyes of the common people, in the use of signing and musical
instruments, such as the pipe and drum, and it is not befitting that the
majesty of the Koran should be, even temporarily, associated with these
things. It is related of the Prophet that once, when he entered the house of
Rabia, the daughter of Muaz, some singing-girls who were there began
extemporizing in his honour. He abruptly bade them cease, as the praise of
the Prophet was too sacred a theme to be treated in that way. There is also
some danger, if verses of the Koran are exclusively used, that the bearers
should attach to them some private interpretation of their own, and this is
unlawful. On the other hand, no harm attaches to interpreting lines of
poetry in various ways, as it is not necessary to apply to a poem the same
meaning which the author had.
Other features of these mystic dances are the bodily contortions and tearing
of clothes with which they are sometimes accompanied. If these are the
result of genuine ecstatic conditions there is nothing to be said against
them, but if they are self-conscious and deliberate on the part of those who
wish to appear "adepts," then they are merely acts of hypocrisy. In any case
the more perfect adept is he who controls himself till he is absolutely
obliged to give vent to his feelings. It is related of a certain youth who
was a disciple of Sheikh Junaid that, on hearing singing commence in an
assembly of the Sufis, he could not restrain himself, but began to shriek in
ecstasy. Junaid said to him, "If you do that again, do not remain in my
company." After this the youth used to restrain himself on such occasions,
but at last one day his emotions were so powerfully stirred that, after long
and forcible repression of them, he uttered a shriek and died.
To conclude: in holding these assemblies, regard must be had to time and
place, and that no spectators come from unworthy motives. Those who
participate in them should sit in silence, not looking at one another, but
keeping their heads bent, as at prayer, and concentrating their minds on
God. Each should watch for whatever may be revealed to his own heart, and
not make any movements from mere self-conscious impulse. But if anyone of
them stands up in a state of genuine ecstasy all the rest should stand up
with him, and if anyone's turban falls off the others should also lay their
turbans down.
Although these matters are comparative novelties in Islam and have not been
received from the first followers of the Prophet, we must remember that all
novelties are not forbidden, but only those which directly contravene the
Law. For instance, the "Tarawih," or night prayer, was first instituted by
the Caliph Omar. The Prophet said, "Live with each man according to his
habits and disposition," therefore it is right to fall in with usages that
please people, when non-conformity would vex them. It is true that the
Companions were not in the habit of rising on the entrance of the Prophet,
as they disliked this practice; but where it has become established, and
abstaining from it would cause annoyance, it is better to conform to it. The
Arabs have their own customs, and the Persians have theirs, and God knoweth
which is best.

1. Literally, "Outsiders."
2. Muhammad's favourite wife.
3. Subsequently the first caliph.

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2002-07-15

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