Aslam

Answer: In answer to that, know that if a person questions whether honey is lawful or unlawful , I must say at the beginning that honey is lawful but it is unlawful for man of hot temper. If you ask me about wine, I must say in the beginning that it is unlawful, but it is lawful for a man in whose throat a morsel of food has stuck. These are the exemptions and not the general rule. So at the beginning the general rule has been mentioned by saying that Sama is lawful and wine is unlawful Song are not unlawful for musical sounds but for other measures. Imam Shafeyi does not generally make Sama unlawful. He says that he who takes it as a profession, his evidence is not acceptable. The reason is that song is included within plays and sports and it is connected with useless things. God will not punish for useless things and plays and sports and they are not unlawful. God say :
God will not punish you for vain talks in your oath. If a oath is taken in the name of God and without being firm on it and without being opposed to Shariat, it is lawful.

Answers to those who say that Sama is unlawful: They recite the verse of the Quran: There are men who sell useless talks. Hazrats Ibn Masud, hasan Basari, Nakhayi and others say that useless talks here mean songs. The Prophet said: God made unlawful the trade of singing slave girls, taking their price and teaching themsongs. The word 'Qaina' or singing slave girl is used here to mean one who sings before the drunkards. We have mentioned before that if there is fear of sin as a result of singing by women, it is unlawful. This is supported by the songs of slave girls in the house of Ayesha in presence of the Prophet. If useless talks are purchased in lieu of religion, it leads to misguidance and for that it is unlawful. This is the meaning of useless talk in the above verse.

(2) Another proof of illegality of Sama is said to be this verse:
Do you wonder and laugh at this talk and don't weep while you

Vol-II The Book of Wordly Usages 171

are singing ? If this verse makes song unlawful , then to laugh and weep also as mentioned in this verse are unlawful . God says : As for poets, the misguided ones follow" them, By this verse, only the infidel poets have been mentioned . It is not understood from this that good poetry has been banned.

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(3) Another proof is a Hadis in which the Prophet said : Iblis was the first who sang mourning songs and the first who sang Songs. This does not ban songs as the Prophet David used to sing mourning songs for sins. The Prophet heared this song when he returned from an expedition "The full moon alighted on us from the valley of Saniyyatual Bidayi".