Allaah says in Soorat Luqmaan (interpretation of the meaning):

“And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks to mislead (men) from the path of Allaah…” [Luqmaan 31:6]

The scholar of the ummah,(whom the prophet (SAAWS) made this dua for-”O Allah! Teach him (the knowledge of) the Book” Sahih al-Bukhari, 9:92:375), Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: this means singing. Mujaahid (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: this means playing the drum (tabl). (Tafseer al-Tabari, 21/40).

Al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: this aayah was revealed concerning singing and musical instruments (lit. woodwind instruments). (Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 3/451).

This was reported with saheeh isnaads from Ibn ‘Abbaas and Ibn Mas’ood. Abu’l-Sahbaa’ said: I asked Ibn Mas’ood about the aayah (interpretation of the meaning), ‘“And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks’ [Luqmaan 31:6]. He said: By Allaah, besides Whom there is no other god, this means singing – and he repeated it three times. It was also reported with a saheeh isnaad from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both) that this means singing. He said: By Allaah, besides Whom there is no other god, this means singing – and he repeated it three times. It was also reported with a saheeh isnaad from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both) that this means singing.

“Among my ummah there will certainly be people who permit zinaa, silk, alcohol and musical instruments…” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari ta’leeqan, no. 5590; narrated as mawsool by al-Tabaraani and al-Bayhaqi. See al-Silsilah al-Saheehah by al-Albaani, 91).

It was narrated that Naafi’ (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Ibn ‘Umar heard a woodwind instrument, and he put his fingers in his ears and kept away from that path. He said to me, O Naafi’, can you hear anything? I said, No. So he took his fingers away from his ears and said: I was with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he heard something like this, and he did the same thing. (Saheeh Abi Dawood).

scholars that say it is haram usually reference these accounts as well as others.
they say its haram based on these evidences, not because it leads to dancing and such.

.
For Music, i could only find this hadith to support it.

This hadeeth of ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), when her father (may Allaah be pleased with him) entered upon her at the time of Eid, and there were two young girls with her who were singing the verses that the Ansaar had said on the day of Bu’aath – and any sensible person will know what people say about war. Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Musical instruments of the Shaytaan in the house of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)!” The Messenger of Allaah had turned away from them and was facing the wall – hence some scholars said that Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) would not tell anybody off in front of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but he thought that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was not paying attention to what was happening. And Allaah knows best. He (the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) said: “Leave them alone, O Abu Bakr, for every nation has its Eid, and this is our Eid, the people of Islam.”

This hadeeth shows that it was not the habit of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his companions to gather to listen to singing, hence Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq called it “the musical instruments of the Shaytaan”. And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of this appellation and did not deny it when he said, “Leave them alone, for every nation has its Eid and this is our Eid.” This indicates that the reason why this was permitted was because it was the time of Eid, and the prohibition remained in effect at times other than Eid, apart from the exceptions made for weddings in other ahaadeeth.

sources: for – http://www.muslimaccess.com/articles/misc/music_in_islam.asp
against – http://islamqa.com/en/ref/5000/music

personally, i dont listen to music. If its haram, im staying away from a sin, Alhamdulillah. and if it is halal or w.e, then im still safe. win win situation xD

Music is a debated topic since wayyy back in the day. the fact that all the four madhahib (Abu Hanifa, Shafi3y, Malik, Ahmed) ibn Umar, ibn Abbass, ibn Masood, and other if not most of the past and present scholars regard it as haram, should be sufficient proof that it is at least a doubtful matter, (not as clear cut and obvious as some people think).

In a Hadith, the Prophet (Salla Allahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said: “That which is Halaal is clear and that which is Haraam is clear, and between the two of them are ambiguous (mutashabihat) matters about which many people do not know. Thus he who avoids ambiguous matters clears himself in regard to his religion and his honour, but he who falls into ambiguous matters (eventually) falls into that which is Haraam, like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all but grazing therein. Truly every king has a sanctuary, and truly Allaah’s sanctuary is His prohibitions. Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh, which, if it be whole, all the body is whole, and which, if it is diseased, all of (the body) is diseased. Truly, it is the heart.”
[Related by al-Bukhaari and Muslim.]

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Music is one of the purest and most beautiful creation of God Almighty who set the tone and rhythm of every sound in the universe. Music or singing like all the creations of God, that now constitute an important part of our daily life, can be lawfully used or maliciously abused. Both music and singing are created pure, and beautiful like our fresh air and fresh water and they can be corrupted or polluted by evil-doers of every nationality, color or gender. The corruption of some music shows or songs does not make all the music or songs haram (prohibited) just like the pollution of some water or fresh air by some people will not deem all the water and air haram (prohibited).

It has been mentioned in the fatwa of Imam al-Akbar[6] (the great leader) (see p.375-385 in Fatawa Shaykh Shaltut Published in year 1379AH/1959ce by the Department of Culture at Al-Azhar) – the late Shaykh Mahmud al-Shaltut – on the topic of learning music and listening to it that: God created a human with a natural impulse/instinct (ghariza) to appreciate the beautiful and pleasant things that impresses him. Thus, through this natural impulse he is able to calm himself, stimulate himself, and relax his body. For example, a human being by his very nature is always pleased by beautiful sceneries such as a well-arranged garden, the dancing waves of clear seawater, and is delighted by the sight of a beautiful face as well as pleasant aromas. Sharia does not in any way try to suppress these human impulses and instincts, rather, it regulates them. Moderation and adopting the middle ground is the great and golden principle of Islam that has been clearly stated in the Quran in many places, for example: O children of Adam! Adorn and beautify yourselves at every place of worship (masjid) and eat, drink but do not be extravagant. Al-Araf: verse 31. Thus, the sharia expects the human being to adopt the middle path whenever he is responding to his natural impulses/instincts. It also provides guidelines to ensure the human instinct great love for beautiful scenery and lovely sounds is moderated and does not lead to harm or evil.

The author of the book al-Sama (listening) Muhammad Ibn Tahir Ibn Ali Ibn Ahmad Ibn Abi al-Hasan al-Shaybani Abu al-Fadl al-Maqdisi well-known as Ibn al-Qaysarani a great expert in the field of hadith declared that there is no difference at all between listening to one type of instrument or another since there exist no single textual evidence, whether authentic or inauthentic, for or against the use of instruments. Early scholars such as Shaykh Abdul al-Ghani al-Nabulusi al-Hanafi who has been mentioned previously ruled that the use of such instruments was allowed since there was no evidence to prove otherwise. He also argues that the traditions used by those who are opposed to the use musical instruments, if we assume that they are authentic, they have only condemned music when accompanied and associated with intoxicants, fornication and other immoral behaviour. Almost all such traditions mention these vices as the reason behind the condemnation of music. This is also the view of Ibn Hazm who holds the view that the verdict whether music is allowed or not rests on the intentions of the people involved. Thus, if a person listens to music with the intention to relax and motivate himself before engaging in the obedience of God then he will be considered as a righteous person. However, if he does not make any intention whether good or bad, he will not be taken to account for his action and will be treated just like a person taking a walk in the park or sitting outside his house for fresh air.

The Quran states: And, for what your tongues describe, do not utter the lie, (saying) This is lawful and this is unlawful, in order to forge a lie against God; surely those who forge the lie against God shall not prosper (al-Nahl: verse 116).

Warning against playing with the word “ haram ”

I would finally just like to address the self-styled scholars who tackle the word “ haram ” easily and set it free in their writings and fatwas that they should observe that Allah is watching over them in all that they say or do. They should also know that this word “ haram ” is very dangerous. It means that Allah’s Punishment is due on a certain act or saying, and should not be based upon guessing, whims, weak Hadiths, not even through an old book. It has to be supported by a clear, well-established text or valid consensus. If these last two are not found, then we revert the given act or saying to the original rule: “permissibility governing things”. We do have a good example to follow from one of our earlier pious scholars. Imam Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: “It was not the habit of those who preceded us, the early pious Muslims, who set good example for the following generations, to say, ‘This is halal , and this is haram . But, they would say, ‘I hate such-and-such, and maintain such-and-such, but as for halal and haram , this is what may be called inventing lies concerning Allah. Did not you hear Allah’s Statement that reads, ‘Say: Have you considered what provision Allah has sent down for you, how you have made of it lawful and unlawful? Say: Has Allah permitted you, or do you invent a lie concerning Allah?” (Yunus: 59) For, the halal is what Allah and His Messenger made lawful, and the haram is what Allah and His Messenger made unlawful.

i will say though and Allah forgive me if im wrong but didnt some women sing in front of the the prophet(saw) on different occasions and he(saw) didnt condem them???? correct me if im wrong.

i wonder if this is a school of thought issue? as islam is a thinking persons religon which doesnt take realism at the expense of idealism

Before i start,i just want you guys to clear out your hearts and put down all those ego of yours for a moment and think together.I am sorry and i am not try to be wise here but lets just think together and hopefully we can come up with something good at the end. Remember,one muslim is another brother to another muslim and same goes for the sisters. And i am sorry for my English is not that good but i’ll try to clear things out Insyallah.

My dear muslim brother and sister or non muslim who’s reading this comment please pay attention. Though Sheykh Kamal El Mekki in this lecture said that music is haram and it resembles the tools of shaytan for deception. But what he was truly highlighting is that the type of music that can lead you astray and keep you away from Allah S.W.T. Now if you said that Nasheed is one of the category then you are truly wrong. Nasheed music are mostly calling you to remember the creator of Heavens and Earth,Allah, either it is about the mercy of Allah or rewards that Allah give to people who has given complete obedience to him or even punishment for those who rebel against him.It act as an advice for muslims and of course muslim knows Al-Quran is the best guidance and advice for mankind.

Now if you compare Nasheed with any type of music you name it, Which one would you think that would be most beneficial to you?

For instance you are listening to a country music that gives you an advice on life and on the other hand you have also an advice from Nasheed music about life with the praises of Allah in it. Now compare those two. You sing along with that country song what would get?a good deed?Not even a small one. Where as Nasheed most of it are advice for not to forget about Allah and at the same time you got a good deed because you are listening to something Allah like you listen to.

On the day of Judgement,we stand before Allah and he will question us about what have we use our ears for and what we listen to.The Voice of shaytan or Nasheed of Allah or Al-Quran? We will be ask whether we use our ears for good or bad. Same thing goes to our other body parts we will be question what have we used them for.

That’s all i can say brothers and sisters. If i happened to offend you in anyway please forgive me and may Allah bless you.

I would like to share with you with one of my favorite Nasheed. Follow this link>>

I agree with your point that music can take the place of the Quran in ones heart if you become so entranced with it, which nothing in your heart should take the place of the Word of Allah swt. I suppose then that it would be best to avoid ANYTHING in general that you feel would be at risk of taking the place of Allah swt in your heart.

I am reminded of the reference to alcohol in the Quran:

(1) They ask you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) concerning alcoholic drink and gambling. Say: “In them is a great sin, and (some) benefit for men, but the sin of them is greater than their benefit.” And they ask you what they ought to spend. Say: “That which is beyond your needs.” Thus Allah makes clear to you His Laws in order that you may give thought.” Al-Baqara, Chapter #2, Verse #219

So the point being that even though there are “some” benefits from alcohol for man, it is best to avoid it completely.

However, the entire area of contention with regards to music is: where does it clearly state that music is haraam, period. Just from the fact that there is so much contention about this particular topic, there probably is evidence from both sides of the argument.

Allah swt knows best.

http://islamqa.com/en/ref/5000/music