Question
assalaam-o-alaykum!
Is there anything wrong with listening to Qawwali by Islamic perspective?
Sincerely,
Shahbaz Qureshi,
Answer
Listening to Qawwali by itself is of no problem in Islam just as listening to music by itself is of no problems. It is only wrong intentions, wrong contents and wrong conditions that can make Qawwali Haram.
If we listen to Qawwali aiming to get closer to God or to have some sort of spiritual experience, then this is an innovative practice. Contrarily prayers are prescribed by the Almighty as the best tools to get closer to God and to have the most wonderful spiritual experience.
If we listen to a Qawwali that contains poems that are in conflict with the teachings of Islam then again this is something that we need to refrain from.
If during the Qawwali people are demonstrating particular behaviour indicating that they are in a form of subconscious state then again this is something that is not appropriate for a Muslim.
If none of the above apply and the person is listening to Qawwali only for entertainment or even to get some spiritual motivation then I do not see any problems with it.
I would like to add that there are practices prescribed by God and his Messengers that can give us a ‘real’ spiritual experience. Any other practices made by human being may give us an experience that can be perceived to be spiritual. The question however is, whether this experience is also ‘real’, or if it is simply a ‘feeling’ that is resulted from combination of physical, environmental, emotional and psychological factors. If one says that part of this experience is really spiritual then the next question will be, why the best generation of Muslims, including the Prophet (sws) never prescribed these practices and never did them themselves.
Answered by: Farhad Shafti
Date: 2015-03-30
