A hadith from Abu Dawood presented to prove the prohibition of music

You have inquired about the following hadith from Abu Dawud:

عن نافعٍ، قالَ سمعَ ابنُ عمرَ مزمارًا – قالَ – فوضعَ أصبعيهِ على أذنيهِ وناءَ عن الطَّريقِ وقالَ لي يا نافعُ هل تسمَعُ شيئًا قالَ فقلتُ لا. قالَ فرفعَ أصبعيهِ من أذنيهِ وقالَ كنتُ معَ النبيِّ صلَّى اللهُ عليهِ وسلَّمَ فسمعَ مثلَ هذا فصنَعَ مثلَ هذا.

Nafi’ reported that Ibn Umar, upon hearing a flute, placed his fingers in his ears and moved away from the road. He then asked me, “Do you hear anything?” I replied, “No.” He subsequently removed his fingers from his ears and said, “I was with the Prophet (ﷺ), and he heard something similar and did the same.” (Hadith 4924)

Imam Abu Dawud has categorized this hadith as Munkar (rejected). However, some scholars have classified it as Hasan (fair), and others, such as Shaikh Albani, have classified it as Sahih (authentic). Regardless of its classification, this hadith does not conclusively establish that music is prohibited. On the contrary, it suggests that music is permissible. If the sound of the flute were haram, Ibn Umar (ra) would have not only covered his ears but also instructed Nafi’ to stop listening. The narrative indicates that Nafi’ (ra) continued listening to the music. Had music been prohibited, Ibn Umar (ra) would have instructed the person playing the flute to cease playing. It is also plausible that both Ibn Umar (ra) and the Prophet (sws) personally disliked the sound but did not consider it obligatory for others to avoid it. Additionally, Ibn Umar (ra) did not claim that the Prophet (sws) commanded him to cover his ears; rather, he simply emulated an action he observed the Prophet (sws) performing.

Therefore, this narrative cannot be used as a basis for prohibiting music.