What is the ruling on the money that a singer accumulated before his repentance?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner: Regarding the money he collected from his music and singing in the past, and he collected what he collected of money.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner: What is its ruling after my repentance?
The Shaykh: Here, the sincere repentance becomes apparent from the other one that I have been going around with you about. What is the benefit? The singer who repented before, but that one was British, and this one is a son of your country, Saudi. And the British one, it seems, was sincere in his repentance, so he wrote to some of those known for knowledge among the general people, and perhaps the ruling is different among the specialists. He wrote asking, "I was a singer, and now I have embraced Islam and repented to Allah, is it permissible for me to benefit from these moneys? Or to continue benefiting from the tapes he had recorded?" The answer came from that one whom the general people think is a specialist, saying, "We do not have a definitive text forbidding singing." So we fear that this son of your country's repentance is because of these corrupting muftis on earth, that his repentance is in name and form, and not in action. And therefore, I advise that you wait, and then the matter returns to you,
The questioner: He donated about twelve million or fourteen million for relief.
The Shaykh: I wish she had not committed zina and had not given charity. And your saying "donated" is going by the rule, but not on the straight path. Is this a donation? A donation is from lawful money. As for him, he must give out of all his money that he acquired by a haram path, and he remains to return poor and destitute. And here, your work comes in, clear, okay.
The questioner: Okay, where are the moneys, where are they spent?
The Shaykh: In public facilities. Public facilities do not benefit specific individuals, even if they are from the poor and needy,
The questioner: Like building mosques, for example.
The Shaykh: No, mosques are not built with dirty money.
The questioner: What do you mean by public facilities? Schools?
The Shaykh: Meaning, no, like shelters, for example.
The questioner: Houses, for example, that he makes into a ribat (lodging) that the poor residents benefit from?
The Shaykh: There is no harm.
The questioner: The one who knows better.
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner: This.
The Shaykh: Public facilities benefit the masses of people, not a specific person, as I mentioned, a house that the poor and needy take shelter in, not a specific poor person. He builds a bridge where people find it difficult to pass in that place except by the bridge. He paves a road in a village. And so on. He draws water from a spring. He digs an artesian well. And there are many matters.
The questioner: Even if he digs it and places it in the regions of Afghanistan.
The Shaykh: Good.
The questioner: In Afghanistan, I mean.
The Shaykh: Trustworthy, good, excellent.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner: What is its ruling after my repentance?
The Shaykh: Here, the sincere repentance becomes apparent from the other one that I have been going around with you about. What is the benefit? The singer who repented before, but that one was British, and this one is a son of your country, Saudi. And the British one, it seems, was sincere in his repentance, so he wrote to some of those known for knowledge among the general people, and perhaps the ruling is different among the specialists. He wrote asking, "I was a singer, and now I have embraced Islam and repented to Allah, is it permissible for me to benefit from these moneys? Or to continue benefiting from the tapes he had recorded?" The answer came from that one whom the general people think is a specialist, saying, "We do not have a definitive text forbidding singing." So we fear that this son of your country's repentance is because of these corrupting muftis on earth, that his repentance is in name and form, and not in action. And therefore, I advise that you wait, and then the matter returns to you,
The questioner: He donated about twelve million or fourteen million for relief.
The Shaykh: I wish she had not committed zina and had not given charity. And your saying "donated" is going by the rule, but not on the straight path. Is this a donation? A donation is from lawful money. As for him, he must give out of all his money that he acquired by a haram path, and he remains to return poor and destitute. And here, your work comes in, clear, okay.
The questioner: Okay, where are the moneys, where are they spent?
The Shaykh: In public facilities. Public facilities do not benefit specific individuals, even if they are from the poor and needy,
The questioner: Like building mosques, for example.
The Shaykh: No, mosques are not built with dirty money.
The questioner: What do you mean by public facilities? Schools?
The Shaykh: Meaning, no, like shelters, for example.
The questioner: Houses, for example, that he makes into a ribat (lodging) that the poor residents benefit from?
The Shaykh: There is no harm.
The questioner: The one who knows better.
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner: This.
The Shaykh: Public facilities benefit the masses of people, not a specific person, as I mentioned, a house that the poor and needy take shelter in, not a specific poor person. He builds a bridge where people find it difficult to pass in that place except by the bridge. He paves a road in a village. And so on. He draws water from a spring. He digs an artesian well. And there are many matters.
The questioner: Even if he digs it and places it in the regions of Afghanistan.
The Shaykh: Good.
The questioner: In Afghanistan, I mean.
The Shaykh: Trustworthy, good, excellent.
Source
سلسلة الهدى والنور، الشريط 1115 — al-albany.com (9:19)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.