Nuzhat al-Asma fi Masalat al-Sama "Ahkam al-Ghina wal-Maazif
- Author died
- 795 AH
- Editions
- al-Fārūq al-Ḥadīthah lil-Ṭibā‘ah wal-Nashr
Nuzhat al-Asma fi Masalat al-Sama (A Promenade of the Ears Regarding the Question of Audition) is a legal treatise on the rulings governing singing, musical instruments, and audition (al-sama'), authored by the Hanbali jurist and traditionist Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali (736–795 AH / 1335–1393 CE) .
Composition and Purpose
Ibn Rajab composed the work as a response to inquiries regarding the newly introduced practices of musical audition (al-sama' al-muhdath), specifically addressing whether listening to singing and musical instruments is prohibited, whether explicit scriptural proofs exist for such a prohibition, the ruling on listening to an unrelated woman (al-mar'ah al-ajnabiyyah) singing, and the status of those who perform audition as an act of pious devotion . Noting the extensive disagreements and existing monographs on the topic across jurists, hadith scholars, and Sufis, he framed the treatise to provide concise, structured principles summarizing the core legal and theological aims of the question .
Structure and Content
The author organizes the subject of listening to singing and instruments of diversion into two primary categories :
- Audition for Amusement and Pleasure: This encompasses listening that occurs for entertainment, play, and satisfying worldly desires . Ibn Rajab records that the majority of scholars hold singing and musical instruments to be unlawful in this context due to their tendency to stir physical passions . He marshals prophetic hadiths and early reports (athar) substantiating this prohibition and clarifies that texts cited for leniency apply only to non-provocative poetry recitation, such as camel-driver chants (al-huda'), rather than prohibited singing .
- Audition for Spiritual Devotion: This concerns listening undertaken with the intention of drawing close to God, softening the heart, and cultivating spiritual yearning . Ibn Rajab critiques this practice, arguing that spiritual proximity cannot be attained through means that God has not legislated . He traces the historical development of devotional audition, identifying early precursors such as reciting the Quran according to musical melodies and rhythmic metres (al-alhan), and the chanting of ascetic poetry . While acknowledging that a few early authorities allowed melodic Quran recitation strictly to evoke humility and contemplation, he highlights that the vast majority of scholars censured it because musical melodies distract the listener from pondering the meaning of the scripture .
Manuscripts and Publications
Manuscripts of the treatise are preserved in several collections, including the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin (MS 4242, copied in a 9th-century AH Naskh hand across 17 folios), the King Fahd National Library in Riyadh (formerly in the Saudi Library at the Presidency of Islamic Research, MS 686, in 22 folios), and a photographic reproduction at Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyyah in Cairo (no. 21613 B) .
The text has been edited and published in multiple critical editions, including versions edited by Umm 'Abd Allah bint Mahrus al-'Asali (Dar al-'Asimah, Riyadh, 1407 AH) , al-Walid ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Faryan (Dar Taybah, Riyadh, 1407 AH / 1986 CE) , and 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Tariqi (1413 AH) . It was also published within the collected treatises of the author (Majmu' Rasa'il al-Hafiz Ibn Rajab) edited by Tal'at al-Hulwani .
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