Refuting Some Doubts of Those Who Permit Listening to Singing

Question:
It is well known that singing is forbidden. If we try to explain this to some people, they argue with us and say: If singing were forbidden, it would not be on television and the radio, or in the markets. What do we answer to these people? Some say: The sin is the singer’s, male or female, but the listener owes nothing?

Answer:
Singing is forbidden without doubt. The evil of songs is great, and the majority of scholars have held them to be forbidden, and that it is obligatory to denounce them. If they are accompanied by music or other instruments of amusement, this is forbidden by the consensus of the Muslims. Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) said: [Surah Luqman: 6]. The scholars of knowledge—the majority of exegetes—agreed that what is meant by "amusing talk" is singing, and the sounds of musical instruments... all of it falls under that. So this is forbidden according to the scholars of knowledge. If singing is gathered with instruments of amusement, such as the violin, the oud, music, or the like, it is forbidden according to all scholars of knowledge.
So it is obligatory to leave it. The listener is a partner to the singer. Whoever says... that is an error. The listener is a partner, just as the listener to the reciter of the Qur'an is a partner to him in the reward. So the listener to music and blameworthy songs is a partner to him in the burden. So songs, singing films, and singing cassettes are forbidden to sell, buy, or listen to. All of it is blameworthy, and its price is illicit, from the forbidden illicit gain—we seek refuge in Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He). There is no proof in what the state does. The state is not infallible. Not everything it does is permissible. The state is not infallible, and it may do things for the sake of politics, or... to be cautious, or for other reasons. So the state is not infallible in everything. But the believer should ask the scholars of knowledge, be discerning, and understand his religion. He should not argue by the state, nor by anyone other than the state. Knowledge is what Allah said, and what His Messenger said. The lawful is what Allah and His Messenger made lawful, and the forbidden is what Allah and His Messenger made forbidden, not what the state, or so-and-so, or so-and-so made forbidden.
Knowledge is the knowledge of the Shari'ah, which are the rulings of Allah and His Messenger, not of people. So it is obligatory for the believer to fear Allah. If the state said: "Give us a riyal..." he would go to the court to demand it. But regarding singing, he says: "The state," and argues by his desire. But if the state said: "Leave your land, do not take this land, or else give us one hundred riyals every month," he would say: "No, I am not giving you, nor listening, nor obeying. This is the Shari'ah. Judge by the Shari'ah between us and you." For his desire, he seeks the Shari'ah, and for his desire, he makes the forbidden permissible. We ask Allah for safety.