Is music haram (prohibited) in the Quran?
Question:
A scholar advised my son that music is haram. He based his claim on the following verse:
31:6. But there are some who employ theatrics, only to lead others away from Allah's Way—without any knowledge—and to make a mockery of it. They will suffer a humiliating punishment.
The scholar said that the word "theatrics" refers to all forms of art and music. He added that since "theatrics" are means to lead away from Allah's way (31:6), thus all forms of art and music are prohibited. Can you please clarify?
Reply:
In reference to the translation of 31:6 which the scholar used, please note the following:
1- The translation used for 31:6 is totally inaccurate. The Arabic words which were translated to "theatrics" are:
Lahw al-hadith:
lahw = means idle/baseless/frivolous
hadith = any spoken words
The 2 words together mean: idle/baseless/frivolous talk. Idle talk is like harmful talk, baseless hearsay, gossip and so on.
The words (idle talk) do not in any way speak about theatre, art or music.
And so, to deliberately change God's words to imply they mean anything theatrical or musical is a deliberate manipulation to enforce a personal agenda.
2- The following is the accurate translation of 31:6:
And among the people is he who trades in frivolous hadith and thus leads others away from the path of God without knowledge, and he makes a mockery of it. Those will have a humiliating punishment. 31:6
3- There are various Quranic sites that show different translations of the Quran. If you would look at one of those sites, you would see that all translations of 31:6 translated the words (lahw al-hadith) as "idle talk" or words to that effect.
What this means is that the scholar who contacted your son has deliberately used a clearly inaccurate translation of 31:6 in order to enforce his own agenda.
4- Nowhere in the Quran do we find a prohibition against art or music. As long as the art or music is decent and does not harbour any immoral content, it is not prohibited. To prohibit what God did not prohibit is a great sin in the eyes of God:
Do not utter lies that are portrayed by your tongues: "This is lawful, and that is unlawful," to fabricate lies and attribute them to God. Those who fabricate lies and attribute them to God will not succeed. 16:116