Farah al-Asma bi Rukhas al-Sama
- Author died
- 882 AH
- Editions
- al-Dār al-ʿArabīyah lil-Kitāb
Farah al-Asma bi Rukhas al-Sama (Delighting the Ears with the Dispensations of Audition) is a treatise on the legal and spiritual permissibility of music and Sufi audition (sama') by the Maliki Sufi scholar Abu al-Mawahib Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Tunisi, known as Ibn Zaghdan (c. 820–881 or 882 AH / 1417–1476 or 1477 CE; another report gives d. 850 AH) .
Title and Authorship
The work is commonly titled Farah al-Asma bi Rukhas al-Sama, though bibliographic sources such as Hajji Khalifa's Kashf al-Zunun and Ismail Pasha al-Baghdadi's Hadiyyat al-Arifin also record it under the variant title Qar' al-Asma bi Rukhas al-Sama . Its author was born in Tunis, later settled in Cairo, and belonged to the Wafa'i branch of the Shadhili Sufi order .
Purpose and Contents
The author composed the treatise to assemble legal arguments and reports establishing the permissibility of sama' and singing (ghina'), aiming to counter detractors who condemned Sufi spiritual gatherings . In the introduction, he describes sama' as a spiritual refreshment and an ascent for the souls of spiritual wayfarers (ahl al-suluk) .
The text covers several divisions and subjects:
- Categories of Singing (Aqsam al-Ghina'): Discussing legal viewpoints across the four Sunni schools as well as the Zahiris, citing jurists who held that singing is permissible or recommended when done with upright spiritual intentions to stir remembrance of the afterlife .
- Accompaniment by Frame Drum and Flute: Reviewing scholarly disagreements over singing accompanied by the duff (frame drum) and the shabbaba (reed flute), citing authorities such as Izz al-Din ibn 'Abd al-Salam and Taqi al-Din Ibn Daqiq al-Iyd who permitted them, and arguing that the flute softens the heart .
- Stringed Instruments and Pipes: Examining audition involving the lute ('ud) and other instruments, citing reports of companions, successors, and early scholars of Medina such as Ibrahim ibn Sa'd who permitted or engaged in listening to the lute .
- Movement and Dancing (al-Raqs): Justifying devotional movement during sama' through scriptural analogies, notably the report of the Abyssinians playing in the Prophet's mosque on the day of Eid and companions hopping after receiving praise from the Prophet ﷺ, as well as the reported practice of Izz al-Din ibn 'Abd al-Salam .
- Scholars Who Attended Audition Sessions: A dedicated section listing prominent scholars from the Islamic East and West who attended sama' sessions with flutes and drums, including Taj al-Din al-Fazari, Ibn Daqiq al-Iyd, Badr al-Din Ibn Jama'ah, Shams al-Din al-Isfahani, and Maghribi scholars alongside Sultan Abu al-Hasan of Fez .
Reception and Refutation
The work circulated widely among proponents of Sufi music and audition, leading opponents to draft critical responses . The most prominent refutation was written by the Shafi'i jurist Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (d. 974 AH), titled Kaff al-Ra'a' 'an Muharramat al-Lahw wa-al-Sama' (Restraining the Commoners from the Prohibited Forms of Amusement and Audition) . Al-Haytami recounted that after being questioned about audition in Rabi' 958 AH, leaders in Mecca sent him a copy of Ibn Zaghdan's treatise and requested a systematic rebuttal to refute its arguments for the permissibility of musical instruments and audition .
Manuscripts and Publication
Manuscript copies of the treatise are preserved in several collections, including the Berlin State Library, the Asafiyya Library in Hyderabad, the Institute of Oriental Studies in Saint Petersburg, Princeton University Library, and the National Library of Tunisia . The text was published in Lucknow, India, in 1317 AH within a collection of treatises on sama', and was subsequently edited and printed in Tunis in 1985 CE .
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