ENDLESS BLISS FASCICLE-4

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Waqf Ikhlas publications Endless Bliss Fascicle-4 http://www.hizmetbooks.org where it will be spoilt and where it will not. For this, it is necessary to learn tajwid. It is mustahab to recite the Qur'an al-karim, the dhikr and the ilahis with a beautiful voice provided that it does not spoil the meaning. And this is done by reciting compatibly with the tajwid. The effect of this on the heart and the soul is tremendous. Reciting with a beautiful voice does not mean making melody and moving ones chin; it means reciting with the fear of Allah. Anbiya (salawatullahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain) and Awliya (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain) used to recite with a beautiful voice. It was prohibited by a hadith ash-Sharif to recite with a sad voice and to listen to it like the fasiqs and the Ahl-i kitab. To spoil the tajwid by elhan, that is, by keeping up with a musical tune, is an ugly bidat and to listen to it is a grave sin. To give a complete explanation of taghanni and music, the eighth article of the first chapter of Kimya-yi saadat is translated below. There is detailed information on singing on page 182 of the book Akhlaq-i 'ala'i and in the last chapter of Tibb-un-nabawi by Muhammad ibn Ahmad Zahabi. Imam-i-Ghazali's account is as follows: "There is a force called qalb or inclination in the heart. Beautiful and harmonious sound sets this hidden force into motion, like a piece of steel when it hits flintstone generates spark, as a spark will be generated when flintstone is struck against a piece of steel [and as a glass or a bakelite rod when rubbed with wool attracts pieces of paper]. Beautiful sounds penetrate into one's heart, de spite one's will, because the qalb (heart) and ruh (soul) have a connection with the 'alam alarwah, which is above the 'Arsh. This non-material and immeasurable 'alam is the 'alam of 'husn al jamal' or beauty, and the basic element of beauty is tanasub (harmony). Every kind of beauty in this world comes from the beauty of that 'alam. Beautiful, rhythmic and harmonious sounds resemble that 'alam. The hearts of those who obey the Shariat become pure and strong. Such hearts have a strong connection with the 'alam al-amr, and music influences and sets them into motion in the direction of their inclinations or orientations as the wind sets the glowing fire into flames. If there is love for Allahu ta'ala in the heart, a beautiful voice causes that love to increase, and, therefore, it is beneficial. Contrary to this is the case of a person whose heart is corrupt and whose nafs has become stronger because he does not obey the Shariat but follows his nafs, instead. The sick heart of such a person cannot enjoy music because his nafs is excited by music, and music, therefore, is harmful and haram for him. Those who cannot understand that there can be love for Allahu ta'ala in the heart say that any beautiful voice is haram. They say man can love his like and man's heart cannot have any relation with anything which is not of his kind, and, therefore, they do not believe in love for Allahu ta'ala. When they are told that the Shariat orders man to have love for Allahu ta'ala, they say this means that we should obey His orders lovingly. "A beautiful sound does not bring to the heart anything from the outside. It excites the halal 'connections' in the healthy heart, and, therefore, it is halal to listen to taghanni (singing) for a heart that is not sick. If there is no inclination (or connection) in the heart, his enjoying a beautiful voice is similar to his listening to birds, singing, or his looking at green plants, beautiful streams and flowers. As these refresh the eyes, fragrant scents are pleasurable to the nose, delicious food gives delight to the mouth, scientific knowledge and discoveries are sweet to the intellect, so a beautiful voice is pleasurable to the ears and is mubah as they are. "The nafs of a person with a sick heart fancies a na-mahram girl or boy. This desire in his or her nafs becomes more intense when he or she listens to music. Since it is haram for him or her to be with her or him, listening to any kind of taghanni (singing) causes haram activities. "He whose heart is not sick does not enjoy hearing the voice which is describing girls, love and desire; he even feels uncomfortable. But if the heart happens to be sick, the nafs enjoys it and is excited towards the haram. Therefore, it is haram for such people to listen to music. All young Page 163 of 181
Waqf Ikhlas publications Endless Bliss Fascicle-4 http://www.hizmetbooks.org people, both boys and girls, are in this category. Anything that enrages the fire of the nafs, which the Shariat has ordered to be extinguished, is haram. And it is only under certain conditions and within limitations that it becomes mubah for a healthy heart to listen to the sounds that increase the love for, or the inclination towards, the halal. "It is mubah, even blessed, for the will-be hajjis to listen to songs about Kaba, hajj, Mecca and Medina, and for soldiers to listen to songs about war and bravery. "In Al-mawahib al-laduniyya, it is written that when Rasulullah (sallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam) entered the city of Mecca, Ibn Rawaha was walking in front of the procession and reciting couplets. 'Umar (radiallahu 'anh) said, 'Is it appropriate to recite poems in front of Rasulullah?' Thereupon, Rasulullah declared: 'Let him do it, o 'Umar; do not prevent him! These couplets are more detrimental to the kafirs than arrows.' This shows that it is jaiz (permissible) to read poems that harm the morale of the enemy and make them feel sad, whereas it is not jaiz to read poems that excite the nafs. "It is a blessing to feel sorry and to repent by reading qasidas and ilahis about faults, sins and the torment in Hell. But, it is haram to feel sorry while listening to poetry against death, qada and qadar. [Therefore, we should not read the chapter on death in Mawlids.] "It is mubah to make merry with halal sounds on happy occasions when it is necessary to be joyful, such as at weddings, feasts, sunnats (circumcision ceremonies), 'Iyds and returns from safars (journeys). These sounds do not strengthen the nafs but the qalb. It is self- deception for those with stained hearts to say there is love for Allah in their hearts and then to listen to songs or ilahis. Only a murshid kamil (rahmat-Allahi ta'ala 'alaihim ajmain) can diagnose whether the qalb is pure, strong and has defeated the nafs or if the qalb is sick and the nafs has overpowered it. [It was for this reason that Imam-i Rabbani (quddisa sirruh) did not approve of young people re citing ilahis at meetings, as written in his 266th letter.] A beautiful voice or naghma (song) does more harm than good to the devotees of tasawwuf whose hearts have not attained ahwal, or whose hearts have not been redeemed from shahwa (lust), though they may have ahwal," elucidates Imam-i Ghazali in Kimya-yi saadat. Hadrat Sad ad-Din al-kashgari reports from Khawaja Muhammad Parisa (Quddisa sirruhuma) in Rashahat: "The most harmful of the curtains separating man from Allahu ta'ala is the settling of worldly thoughts in the heart. These thoughts come from bad companions or from watching unnecessary things. One should try very hard to expel them from one's heart. Reading frivolous books [or novels, newspapers, magazines, stories] and talking about unnecessary or trivial subjects increase such thoughts. Watching women or their pictures [in photo-novels, films or on television] and listening to songs and music [with voices of women] cause such harmful thoughts to settle in the heart, all of which take a man away from Allahu ta'ala. Sickness of the heart is its forgetting Allahu ta'ala. Please see the final part of the forty-sixth chapter in the first part of Turkish version! Those who want to approach Allahu ta'ala should avoid this and abstain from anything which incites a malignant imagination. Allahu ta'ala's habit is such that He does not bestow the blessing (of approaching Him) upon those who do not work, endure hardships and give up their joys and desires." [The qalb (heart) is the home of joy and love. Any qalb without them is said to be dead. Either love for Allahu ta'ala or love for the world is in one's qalb. The word 'world' here means things that are haram. When you expel love for the world from your qalb by performing dhikr and worship, it will be purified. Love for Allahu ta'ala will be infused into this purified qalb automatically. When you commit sins, the qalb becomes dark and ill. Consequently, love for the world settles in the qalb instead of love for Allahu ta'ala. An example of this is: If you fill a Page 164 of 181
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