The Ruling on the Use of Music in Islamic Anthems

This is a message received by the program from listener Ali Saleh Hussein. He begins his message by saying: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon the noblest of the prophets and messengers, our master Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions. Brothers in Islam! Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. This program—namely, "Light on the Path"—truly makes the Muslim knowledgeable in his religion, indeed, it makes him a scholar, if that is a fair statement. And I offer my sincere thanks to the brothers in Islam, the distinguished scholars, who thought of this program, and I do not forget to thank them constantly.
O brothers! I have questions and inquiries, which are:
First: regarding music; I read the book "The Lawful and the Forbidden in Islam" by Professor Yusuf, and it became clear to me from my reading that music is lawful. I asked one of the shaykhs in my region in Eritrea to gain more knowledge, and he said to me: There is no harm in it if it is used in occasions and Islamic anthems. Also, I heard from one of the preachers that it is strictly forbidden. The question here is: Is it forbidden if a Muslim uses it in Islamic anthems, and only in occasions? If the answer is yes, what is the evidence of those who permit it? And what is the position of Islam toward them? Please inform us, may Allah reward you.
Answer: Music and its like from instruments of amusement are undoubtedly forbidden, and they are among the forbidden musical instruments. The evidence for this is the saying of the Exalted and Majestic: [Luqman: 6]. Most of the people of exegesis said: It is singing. A group among them said: And attached to that is every instrument of amusement, such as the flute, the lute, and others. Music is among the most intense instruments of amusement in terms of delight, occupation, and play. So, in our belief, it is forbidden because of this verse and because of what is established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: Narrated by al-Bukhari in the Sahih. So, the har is zina, and silk is well-known and not permissible for men, and khamr is well-known... forbidden for everyone, and it is every intoxicant. And the musical instruments are the instruments of play and singing upon them and playing them. And that is only because they divert hearts from the remembrance of Allah and make them sick, and they drag them to types of falsehood, occupying them from the remembrance of Allah and from reading the Qur'an. So, what we believe is the statement of its prohibition and all instruments of play and delight. And whoever says it is lawful, we believe that he has erred, and Allah forgives him. We believe that he has made a mistake. We ask Allah to forgive us and him and all Muslims. The obligatory duty upon the Muslim is to seek the truth in what people differ upon; because Allah the Exalted says: [An-Nisa: 59]. So, if we refer this matter to the Book and the Sunnah, we find the Book warning against play, and it is among the instruments of play, and we find the Sunnah warning against musical instruments, and it is among the musical instruments. Although other things have come in this chapter that support that. The believer should beware of them and not be deceived by the statement of whoever has permitted it. And we ask Allah to guide all Muslims and their rulers to everything that is in the well-being of their religion and their worldly affairs, and to guide the scholars of Muslims to hit the truth in what they issue as fatwas and in what they do and leave, and to make them guides and guided, and to grant them and us and all our brothers the rectification of intention in speech and action.