The Shaykh’s remarks on nasheeds.

The Shaykh : The nasheeds that are called Islamic nasheeds today, if we assume that they are free from any violation of the Shari'ah in their wording and in the meaning of their wording, if we accept that there is nothing in their wording on one hand, and that there is nothing in them that violates other aspects, such as, for example, imitating the frivolous in their recitation, and if we assume, and we assume, that they are free from any such violation, we say that the original ruling for such things is permissibility, so one should not say that they are prohibited. But is the reality of these Islamic nasheeds that they are free from any of the violations we mentioned, or from those we did not mention? In my knowledge and experience, the matter is not so. At the very least, if they are made and placed in the position of the Qur'an, becoming Islamic nasheeds that the young Muslim sings, they end up nullifying the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) . I once spoke about this topic in some gatherings, and one of the young men who were afflicted with this affliction said to me, "By Allah, O Shaykh, you are truthful. We have been distracted by these nasheeds from reciting the Qur'an." I know from my own experience, and praise be to Allah, since I was a child, as they say, when I was in the shop and I was practicing the profession of repairing watches, I would place the mushaf in front of me and try not only to read, but to memorize something while I was at work. And I would interpret this action based on his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) . Not a single day came to my mind where I thought to sing an Islamic nasheed. But yes, I would remember, for example, the poem of Ibn al-Wardi, which begins: "Avoid mentioning songs and love poetry, and speak the truth and avoid those who joke, and leave the memory of the days of youth, for the days of youth are a star that has set." Among what I say there is: "I do not choose to kiss a hand that is cut off, which is more beautiful than that kiss, if it is severed from me." About what, by Allah, I have forgotten.

The questioner : "Do not say that their lords have gone, for everyone who walks on the path will arrive."

The Shaykh : This is a nasheed that has spirit, it has guidance, it has morals. Look now at the Islamic nasheeds, look at their composition and their notation according to musical laws. If we do not say they are Western, let us say they are frivolous laws that have no connection to Islam at all. So if we assume that these nasheeds are free from any violation, we are on the original ruling mentioned above, which is permissibility. Take, for example, football. This is a sporting means to strengthen the body of the Muslim. We do not see this as a barrier. But is playing football today applied with the rulings of the Shari'ah? The answer is no. Finally, finally, it appeared in some of what we see, and before that I also saw, and this should be mentioned fairly for the group, that it was said that the Muslims were among the very few associations that adopted sports, and especially football. So I was keen to read the newspaper of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was published in Cairo in the time of Hasan al-Banna (may Allah have mercy on him). They would publish sports news, among which was that a match was held between the Muslim Brotherhood and such-and-such group, and they attended the prayer, so they prayed the 'Asr prayer, for example, as a congregation in the municipal stadium. This is a good thing. Long clothes, not revealing, meaning they imposed their Islamic system and belief on this game, which is originally a foreign game, and there is no harm in it. Therefore, we say that these means, if they do not violate any aspect of the Shari'ah, the original ruling for them is permissibility. In fact, they may be among the recommended or obligatory matters if they achieve an obligatory matter, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) . And the hadiths of commanding and encouraging archery are well known and very numerous . Now, archery with spears and arrows has become a fashion, meaning it has been forgotten. So no doubt that a means that has occurred today takes its place, various types of known shooting. So no one among the Muslims says that these exercises with these newly invented means are not permissible to adopt because they are newly invented. But we say it is permissible, and it may be obligatory to adopt them in light of the previous explanation. Therefore, the examples I mentioned must actually be surrounded by this halo of Shari'ah explanation, which any Muslim group must adhere to and not deviate from by a hair's breadth, perhaps in that there is clarity for the people.
Al-Halabi : May Allah reward you with good, O our Shaykh.

The Shaykh : And you,