Ayatollah Sistani's Ruling on Music and Singing

What Is Sistani’s Core Test for Whether Music Is Halal?

Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani draws a clear line between permissible and forbidden music in A Code of Practice for Muslims in the West (Book 46, pp. 257–268):

“Music that is permissible is the music that does not entail entertainment in gatherings held for that purpose. Forbidden music is the music that is suitable for entertainment and amusement gatherings.”

Everything in Sistani's music jurisprudence flows from this single criterion. The question a listener must ask is not about genre labels, not about lyrics, and not about the effect the music produces in the listener. It is solely about the type of tune: is this the kind of music conventionally associated with entertainment and amusement gatherings?

This test is deliberately objective and socially grounded. It asks what a competent observer would recognize about the music's conventional home, not what happens inside the listener when they hear it.

The Expert-Recognition Standard: What “Suitable” Really Means

Sistani is precise about what “suitable for entertainment and amusement gatherings” does and does not mean. He defines it in terms of recognizability by a knowledgeable listener:

“The expression ‘the music or the song that is suitable for entertainment and amusement gatherings’ does not mean that the music or the song's tune amuses the heart or changes the mental state because there is nothing wrong in it. The expression actually means that the person listening to the music or the song's tune — especially if he is an expert in these matters — can distinguish that this tune is used in the entertainment and amusement gatherings or that it is similar to the tunes used therein.”

Two things follow from this definition:

• Recognition, not reaction. The test is whether an informed listener can identify the tune as belonging to the entertainment-gathering type. Whether or not that tune actually amuses or moves them is beside the point.
• Social convention, not personal experience. The assessment is rooted in how tunes are conventionally used in society, especially as understood by someone with musical knowledge. It is not a private, subjective judgment about one's own emotional response.

In practical terms, a person familiar with music should be able to ask: “If I heard this at a party or club, would it fit in?” If yes, it falls on the forbidden side of the line, regardless of what context it is actually being played in.

Why Islamic Content Does Not Change the Ruling: All Ghina Is Forbidden

One of the most frequently misunderstood aspects of Sistani's position is that the content or subject matter of vocal music cannot override the ruling on the tune. He defines singing (al-ghina') as follows:

“Singing (al-ghina') is haram: doing it, listening to it, or living of it. By ‘singing — al-ghina',’ I mean an amusing statement expressed in the tunes that are suitable for those who provide entertainment and amusement.”

When asked directly whether songs that praise the Prophet or the Imams, or songs that lift the morale of fighters, are halal, Sistani's answer is unambiguous:

“All songs (al-ghina') are haram. Based on the definition that we accept, al-ghina' is the entertaining expression by way of tunes that are common to those who provide entertainment and amusement. In this prohibition, we should include the recitation of the Holy Qur'an, supplications (du'as), and songs of praise of Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) uttered to the accompaniment of those tunes [that are used by the entertainers].”

This means that a nasheed, a Quranic recitation, or a praise poem for the Ahlul Bayt delivered in a tune of the entertainment-gathering type remains forbidden. The holiness of the words does not sanctify a forbidden tune. It is the musical form that determines the ruling, not the spiritual weight of the words sung within it.

Similarly, Sistani rules that revolutionary songs accompanied by instruments remain subject to the same test: if the accompanying music is suitable for entertainment and amusement gatherings, it is not permissible to listen to it. He does not grant a “revolutionary songs exception” the way some other scholars do.

It Is Not About Psychological Effect: The Explicit Q&A

A common assumption is that music is forbidden only when it produces arousal, excitement, or spiritual distraction in the listener. Sistani directly addresses and rejects this view in a formal question-and-answer exchange:

Question (paraphrased): Is it correct that music which arouses sexual or lustful urges is the forbidden kind, while music that soothes the nerves, accompanies movie scenes, aids workouts, or arouses zeal in soldiers is permissible?

“Forbidden music is the music that is suitable for entertainment and amusement gatherings, even if it does not arouse sexual temptations. Permissible music is the music that is not suitable for such gatherings, even if it does not soothe the nerves like the martial music and that played at funerals.”

This ruling has several important practical consequences:

• Music that does not arouse anyone can still be forbidden, if its tune is of the entertainment-gathering type.
• Music that does not soothe the nerves — such as martial or funeral music — can still be permissible, because it is not conventionally associated with entertainment gatherings.
• Therapeutic benefit, relaxation, focus, or any other psychological outcome is not a factor. The assessment is made on the type of tune, not on what it does to the listener.

This is a deliberately formal, convention-based criterion, and Sistani is explicit that introducing personal psychological experience into the analysis is a mistake.

Everyday Situations: Hearing vs. Intentional Listening

Sistani's ruling makes a crucial distinction between hearing music and intentionally listening to it. This distinction has real practical consequences for daily life in non-Muslim-majority environments.

“It is permissible to visit public places where music is being played, even if it is suitable for entertainment and amusement gatherings, provided that one does not intentionally listen to it: for example, passengers on course, waiting areas for visitors, public parks, restaurants and cafes, etc — even if the music played there is suitable for entertainment and amusement gatherings — because there is no problem in hearing forbidden tunes without intending to listen to it.”

What this means in practice:

• Cafes and restaurants: Entering and remaining in a cafe where forbidden music plays in the background is permissible, provided the person does not direct their attention to the music and engage with it as a listener.
• Public transport: Riding on a bus, train, or other vehicle where music is playing in the environment does not require the passenger to leave.
• Public parks and waiting areas: The same principle applies. Ambient exposure to music, when not sought out, does not carry the same ruling as deliberate listening.

The boundary falls at intentionality. A person who sits in a cafe and passively hears music is in a different position from one who opens a music app and chooses to play the same track.

Halal music: Where the music being played is of the permissible type (not suitable for entertainment gatherings), visiting and listening is permissible without restriction: “It is permissible to visit places where halal music is being played, and it is permissible to listen to it as long as it is halal.”

Learning music: Sistani explicitly permits learning: “It is permissible for adults as well as children to learn the art of halal music in music schools or other places as long as their visits to such places do not have any negative effect on their proper upbringing.” The permissibility of learning is tied to the permissibility of the music itself: learning halal music is allowed; learning haram music is not.

Musical Instruments and the Official Q&A Numbers

Sistani's rulings on instruments follow the same logic as his rulings on music. The prohibition is not on all instruments as such, but on instruments whose design is exclusively suited to haram entertainment:

“It is not permissible to deal in the instruments of haram entertainment: neither selling nor buying, just as it is not permissible to manufacture them and accept remuneration for making them. ‘An instrument of haram entertainment’ means that its physical shape — that gives its value and eventually the purpose for acquiring it — is not suitable except for use in haram entertainment.”

The official Q&A entries on sistani.org that cover music and singing are:

• Q&A 01200 — Ghina (singing): defines al-ghina' and states it is haram to perform or listen to it.
• Q&A 01246 — Religious songs with music: addresses whether songs of praise accompanied by music are permissible and reaffirms that all ghina' is absolutely haram; the music component is evaluated separately on the entertainment-gatherings test.
• Q&A 01263 — Musical instruments: deals with buying, selling, manufacturing, and using instruments; applies the “exclusively designed for haram entertainment” standard.

One important clarification for researchers: Q&A 01205 on sistani.org is about graves and burial, not about music. It is sometimes cited in error in discussions of music rulings. The correct music-related entries are 01200, 01246, and 01263.

The extended ruling set is found in A Code of Practice for Muslims in the West, Book 46, sections 2071–2072, covering pp. 257–268.

What This Means for a Specific Song

Applying Sistani's framework to a specific track involves a short sequence of questions, each grounded in the source text rather than personal intuition:

1. Is the tune recognizably of the entertainment-gathering type?
   Ask whether a person with musical knowledge, hearing this tune, would identify it as the kind of music played at parties, clubs, or amusement venues. If yes, the music is forbidden regardless of any other factor.
2. If it has vocals, is it ghina'?
   Ghina' is any “amusing statement expressed in tunes suitable for entertainment.” If the vocal performance uses entertainment-gathering tunes, it is ghina' and haram — even if the words are Quranic verses, supplications, or praise of the Ahlul Bayt.
3. Do the lyrics or purpose change the ruling?
   No. Revolutionary lyrics, religious content, and beneficial intent do not override the tune-based criterion. The same applies to personal psychological effects: if the tune is of the forbidden type, the fact that a particular listener feels calm or spiritually elevated when hearing it is not relevant to the ruling.
4. How is it being encountered?
   If a forbidden track is playing in an ambient environment (a restaurant, transport, a public park) and the person is not directing their attention to it, the passive exposure does not carry the ruling that applies to intentional listening. If the person is deliberately playing or attending to it, the ruling applies in full.

A song that passes step one — its tune is not of the entertainment-gathering type — may be listened to freely. A song whose tune is of that type is forbidden to listen to intentionally, regardless of genre label, lyric content, language, cultural origin, or emotional effect on the listener.

Sources

• Sistani.org — A Code of Practice for Muslims in the West, Book 46, Section 2071 (General Rules on Music)
• Sistani.org — A Code of Practice for Muslims in the West, Book 46, Section 2072 (Q&A on Music)
• Sistani.org Q&A 01200 — Ghina (Singing)
• Sistani.org Q&A 01246 — Religious Songs with Music
• Sistani.org Q&A 01263 — Musical Instruments
• Al-Islam.org — Comprehensive Islamic library and scholarly resources

Educational disclaimer: This page is an educational summary of published scholarly rulings and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not a fatwa and does not constitute religious guidance. Readers seeking personal religious guidance should consult a qualified Islamic scholar or refer directly to Ayatollah Sistani's official publications at sistani.org. The quotations on this page are drawn verbatim from the official English translation of A Code of Practice for Muslims in the West and from the verified Q&A entries listed above; no rulings have been invented, paraphrased beyond editorial convention, or attributed without a source.

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