Praise be to Allah, and peace, blessings, and benedictions be upon the Messenger of Allah, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family, his companions, and whoever follows his guidance.
To proceed:
Indeed, the remembrance of Allah, calling upon Him in supplication (du’a), venerating Him, glorifying Him, and praising Him are among the loftiest deeds of devotion and the best acts of obedience. It is among the easiest matters for a human being because the tongue is inevitably in motion; directing its movement toward the remembrance and supplication of Allah guards it from what is improper and occupies it with that which yields benefit and fruit for the Muslim in this life and the Hereafter.
Encouragement and incentive for it have come in the Noble Qur’an and the authentic Sunnah. Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, said:
“O you who believe! Remember Allah with much remembrance. And glorify His Praises morning and afternoon [the early morning (Fajr) and ‘Asr prayers].” [Surah Al-Ahzab: 41-42].
And He (Exalted be He) said:
“Therefore remember Me (by praying, glorifying, etc.). I will remember you,…” [Surah Al-Baqarah: 152].
He concluded the ten qualities for whose people Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward by saying:
“…and the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so” [Surah Al-Ahzab: 35].
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Two words are beloved to the Most Merciful, light on the tongue, heavy on the scales: ‘Glory be to Allah and His praise, Glory be to Allah the Supreme.’” — Narrated by Al-Bukhari (7563) and Muslim (6846).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said:
“The parable of the one who remembers his Lord and the one who does not remember his Lord is like that of the living and the dead.” — Narrated by Al-Bukhari (6407) from Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him). Muslim (1823) narrated it with the wording: “The parable of the house in which Allah is remembered and the house in which Allah is not remembered is like that of the living and the dead.”
He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) further said:
“Shall I not inform you of the best of your deeds, the purest of them before your Sovereign, the highest in your ranks, better for you than spending gold and silver, and better for you than meeting your enemy where you strike their necks and they strike yours?” They said: “Yes.” He said: “The remembrance of Allah Almighty.” — Narrated by At-Tirmidhi (3377) and others with an authentic chain of transmission.
At-Tirmidhi (3375) and others also narrated with an authentic chain from ‘Abdullah bin Busr (may Allah be pleased with him):
A man said: “O Messenger of Allah! The voluntary laws of Islam have become too many for me, so inform me of something I may hold fast to.” He said: “Keep your tongue moist with the remembrance of Allah.”
What is meant by “laws” here are the ‘voluntary deeds’ (nawafil), because the obligatory duties must be fulfilled by every Muslim.
The remembrance and supplication of Allah should be performed secretly and openly, out of fear and hope, and with a present heart. It must not be done through the singing of vocalists.
As for what was published in Al-Madina newspaper on 12/5/1430 AH (in the Al-Risalah supplement)—highlighting and praising the agreement reached between Shaykh A’idh al-Qarni and a singer to sing his poem titled “Al-Wahid Al-Ahad” (The One, The Unique)—this should not have taken place. It would have been proper for him to suffice with reciting it as a chant in the manner known among Muslims since the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his companions (may Allah be pleased with them).
As for singing lyrics containing the remembrance of Allah accompanied by vocal melodies, rhythm, swaying, bodily gestures, and indulging in vocal fascination and delight—as is the habit of singers—this is an invented matter (bid’ah), whether accompanied by musical instruments or not. It contains the following warnings and prohibitions:
- Risk of Disrespect: Singing the remembrance of Allah in the manner of singers does not escape subjecting it to trivialization and disrespect.
- Gateway to Music: It inclines those who normally do not listen to songs toward listening to this genre, making the concept of singing and listening to it overall seem permissible and easy.
- Misleading Labels: It leads to labeling this genre as “Islamic songs,” just as some chants (anasheed)—which fascinated many youths—were previously labeled as “Islamic chants.”
- Lack of Solemnity: This act lacks the seriousness required when remembering Allah; rather, it falls under idle talk (lahw al-hadith) and closely resembles joking with it.
- Deviating from Prophetic Precedent: Calling to Allah (da’wah) is not achieved through singing and musical enjoyment, but through the light of the two revelations (Qur’an and Sunnah), which is the path followed by the ‘righteous predecessors’ (Salaf) of this Ummah (Muslim nation).
- Promoting Bad Precedents & Exaggeration: Regarding the report in the newspaper about allocating a prize of one million riyals for anyone who composes a poem emulating “Al-Wahid Al-Ahad”: if the purpose of this emulating poem is to present it to singers to perform, then this constitutes setting a bad precedent. Furthermore, describing the allocation of one million riyals for emulating “Al-Wahid Al-Ahad” as “a prize allocated for the first time in human history to praise the Creator, Glorified and Exalted be He” is an extreme exaggeration. Who among humanity has encompassed all of human history to claim that it was devoid of such a thing?
- Contradiction with Hadith: The hadith previously mentioned states: “The parable of the house in which Allah is remembered and the house in which Allah is not remembered is like that of the living and the dead.” Which of these two houses would a house be where the song of “Al-Wahid Al-Ahad” is heard if it is sung?! May it not come to pass.
- Resemblance to Sufi Chanting: The singing of singers using the remembrance of Allah to cause musical delight—which stems from the diseases of desires (shahawat)—resembles the Sufi singing of dhikr and listening (sama’), which stems from the diseases of doubts (shubuhat). Both are false and far from what is correct.
What is hoped from Sheikh A’idh is that he recants—if he has not already done so—from this idea that occurred to him upon his chance meeting with the singer during a flight, so that he remains safe from setting a bad precedent whose sin and the sin of those who act upon it after him he would bear. His methodology, and that of other callers to Islam, should align with what the Salaf of this Ummah (Muslim nation) were upon. During that chance meeting on the plane, it was his duty to advise this singer to abandon singing and stay away from it.
Likewise, it is incumbent upon this singer and others to abandon their practice of singing, which will benefit them nothing in their graves and whose evil consequences are feared for them. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Paradise is surrounded by hardships, and the Hellfire is surrounded by desires.” — Narrated by Muslim (2822) from Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him).
I ask Allah, the Majestic and Exalted, to rectify the affairs of the Muslims, guide them to the paths of peace, show us all the truth as truth and grant us the success to follow it, and show us falsehood as falsehood and grant us the success to avoid it. Indeed, He is All-Hearing, All-Answering.
May peace, blessings, and benedictions be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.