I have previously stopped listening to music, by me not putting it on, but I hear it at school and other places, where I try not to enjoy it but sometimes I do? Would that count as listening, and would I be accounted for it or not?
Praise be to Allah.
There is a difference between the one who listens to
music and the one who hears it. The one who listens to songs hears them
deliberately, wants to hear them and enjoys that, whereas the one who
only hears the sound that reaches him, without wanting or intending
to do so, such as when riding in an airplane or a bus in which there
is music, or who goes to the marketplace and hears that from some stores
without wanting or intending to listen to it. There is a difference
between the latter and the one who sits down to listen to and enjoy
this haraam thing.
Hence Shaykh al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyah) said: The command and the prohibition
have to do with listening. Merely hearing something is like seeing;
it has to do with the intention behind seeing, not what happens without
a person choosing it…. The same applies to committing sin through the
five senses of hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch; the commands
and prohibitions are connected to what a person intends and does, but
whatever happens without him choosing it, there is no command or prohibition
with regard to that.
(Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, part 5, p. 566)
One has to denounce that evil as much as possible, but
if he cannot do that, then he should denounce it in his heart. One of
the things implied by denouncing it in one’s heart is not remaining
in a gathering or a place where that evil is happening, if one is able
to leave.
With regard to listening to it, one must strive against
that as much as possible and seek refuge with Allaah from the Shaytaan,
and remember Allaah. Then Allaah will take that away from you. If that
makes your heart attracted to it, then you should keep away from those
parts of the school. If it will not cause you a lot of trouble to miss
some of those classes in which these things happen then you should not
attend them. You have to remember that Allaah is always watching and
fear Him, for whoever fears Allaah, Allaah will give him a way out.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And whosoever fears Allaah and keeps his duty to
Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty)”
[al-Talaaq 65:2]
And Allaah is the Source of strength.