Music and Ghinā’ 38item From time to time radio and television broadcast music that, I think, is suitable for gatherings of lahw and sin. Is it incumbent on me not to listen to such music and should I prevent other people from listening to it? Is it permissible for women to rap on things, other than musical instruments, such as kitchen utensils, in wedding parties? And what is the ruling if the sound is heard outside by men? Is it permissible for a man to listen to a non-maḥram woman’s ghinā’ in order to enjoy being with his wife? Also, is it permissible for the wife to sing ghinā’ for her husband and vice versa? Is there any truth in what is said that the Divine Legislator made ghinā’ ḥarām because it is intrinsically tied in with the gatherings of lahw and la‘ib and that such a prohibition made because such gatherings are themselves ḥarām and it is ranked in the league of making ḥarām the trading in, and manufacturing of, statues which one cannot contemplate a plausible benefit from other than worshipping them? Accordingly, can one assume that the absence, in this day and age, of the cause for ruling it ḥarām would necessarily render it redundant? A person works as a trainer and an international referee in some kind of sport. His work could require his presence in clubs where ḥarām kind of music and singing are played. Is it permissible for him to carry on with this work, especially, if it provides him with some income where jobs are hard to come by? Is it permissible to charge money for making copies of cassettes that contain ḥarām material? How do you define ghinā’? Is it just the human voice or does it cover the sound of musical instruments? If listening to ghinā’ stimulates man’s sexual desire for his wife, what is the view on that? Do such things as the personality of the musician, the place where music is conducted, and the aims of the music have any say in the ruling in the matter of music? I work for an employer who made a habit of listening to ghinā’ played from a cassette recorder. I find myself listening to what is being played, although unwillingly. Is it permissible for me to do so? Is it permissible to: (a) work in manufacturing the dulcimer, a musical instrument, in order to make a living; (b) to teach Iranian classic music in order to revive and promote it? Is it permissible to recite the Holy Qur’an, supplication, and adhān, in a ghinā’-like manner? Is listening to music alone ḥarām, or is hearing also ḥarām? Is mutrib and lahwī nature of a particular type of music the only criterion for judging that it is ḥarām or should one considers the element of excitement also? If it causes the listener to feel sadness and eventually make him cry, what is the ruling then? And what about listening to love poems that are vocalized to the accompaniment of music? If the criterion for ruling that a music is ḥarām is its being lahwī and suitable for gatherings of lahw and sin, what is the ruling in the matter of tunes and chanting which may cause some people to move their body with joy, even the non-discriminating child? Is it permissible to listen to vulgar cassettes in which women sing in the form of ghinā’ if it is not enrapturing? And what should passengers, who use public buses whose drivers play such cassettes, do? Is it permissible to recite poems which are being sung but without the music? 123