[xtrudood]

Bismillahi Rahman al-Raheem,

Eid Mubarak.

Now that Ramadan is over, I wish to highlight an issue. I do not wish to offend anyone, or indeed wish to argue, for the sake of arguing.

I am weak, deficient of intellect and indeed all of you are my teachers in some way or form.

If you throw a cursory glance at my posts they are,

a) very limited considering the time I have been signed on.

b) I try to limit my argumentation only to that of necessity

c) They are predominantly connected to the reformation agenda here in the West, specifically the post-modernism vibes and deconstructionism of Islam, which are coursing through the Muslims in the West at the clandestine behest of their Western architects and masters,

d) they are mainly copy and pastes articles by other Ulama or taalibs.

With this in mind, it is something of a rarity for me to start a new thread and make the bold endeavour of writing something of my own. However I do believe certain things do need to be said.

Music.

Yep, its that darn topic again (although Mufi Abu Haijra's last post should have nailed it). However, not to beat a dead donkey, I wish to offer another perspective, to my responses to the music threads of late.

Brother Dawud Beale made attempts to balance the arguments and Masha'Allah he did a brilliant job, however I present my views to his response in the music thread (you can search for it if you may or see my posts).

There were a few discussion points I missed out and which I would like to present here.

My perspective begins with music in the geopolitical context. It is common knowledge (or at least should be), that Western world governments are directing their efforts at an intellectual struggle. In the UK, Theresa May referred to it as "a battle of hearts and minds".

Many of you may be aware of the infamous RAND corporation policy document authored by one Cheryl Bernard (http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_r...005/MR1716.pdf)

I will paste some key quotes from this document for users to understand the implications of this document:

“Sufis are not a ready match for any of the categories, but we will here include them in modernism. Sufism represents an open, intellectual interpretation of Islam…. Through its poetry, music, and philosophy, Sufism has a strong bridge role outside of religious affiliations.” (p.62)

“Support the modernists first, enhancing their vision of Islam over that of the traditionalists by providing them with a broad platform to articulate and disseminate their views. They, not the traditionalists, should be cultivated and publicly presented as the face of contemporary Islam.” (p.63)

After mentioning the secularists as the second and third support levels, she writes the following:

“Back the traditionalists enough to keep them viable against the fundamentalists (if and wherever those are our choices) and to prevent a closer alliance between these two groups. Within the traditionalists, we should selectively encourage those who are the relatively better match for modern civil society. For example, some Islamic law schools are far more amenable to our view of justice and human rights than are others.”

More pertinently, her comment on the now common, almost fad-like "music, art and culture" phenomenon:

She also states:

“Western Muslims can be corrected if attention and support are given to the other ways in which they express their identity: music, culture, lectures about history, etc.” (p.42)

In sum then, we can paint and picture of what is exactly happening in the West. In the media we can see the prevalence of line one supports for the agenda - Tag Hargeys (Quranist), Yasmin Alibhais (Ismaili Shia), and then you the likes of the Quilliamites. I may get some slack for this from certain quarters, but then you have the likes of Radical Middle Way (and for those who will complain about RMW being mentioned I have proof they have been audited by an external company to determine whether they are meeting Prevent agenda aims), which package traditional Ulama in their agenda. For instance, lets invite one of the Habaa'ib, do a talk on Ihsan in one event. In subsequent events, have freemixing, singing women, and unfettered music for a toxic mixture of sin and eye-candy for the nafs.

The last of these are the most dangerous, because they gain legitimacy through reputable scholars, and push their agenda. And it is these very organisations which I have been pushing music into the faces of Muslims. It has now lead to sisters performing live on stage in front of mixed audiences (see RMW's website for evidence of this). A slippery slope? Most definitely judging by the decline in morality in "Islamic" events.

Music then is being used as a tool of the kuffar to lure the Muslims for their "correction", particularly the youth to an Islam which is deconstructionist vis a vis - an Islam which can be interpretted by anyone at the mere hint of the claim of "Ikhtilaaf" or "controversy" on an issue.

It is also noteworthy that most of these organisations are Sufi leaning. This is not to be interpretted as an attack on Sufis, but rather it is a fact and it is something to come to terms with and understand. (See - http://www.birminghammail.net/news/t...7319-27676505/)

Muslims need to understand, from the above geopolitical context in mind, music, however beautiful the accompanying poetry, is being used as a stepping stone. The effects of music are profound, and is a double edged sword, rather like alcohol. It has its benefits, but dangers outweigh the benefits by far, especially now, where it being used to corrupt youth and introduce a trivial attitude to our Iman. One needs to simply witness so-called nasheed and charity events being organised today.

The truth is, (ignoring the numerous sahih and sound hadith explicating the dangers of music) all these attempts of instilling confusion in the deen have been envisaged and pre-empted by our beloved Messenger (salalahu alayhi wassalam):

“The Halal is clear and the Haram is clear and in between them there are doubtful things. Most of the people have no knowledge about them. So whoever saves himself from the suspicious things saves his religion and his honour. And whoever indulges in these suspicious things is like a shepherd who grazes his animals near the private pasture of Allah on earth is the things He has declared forbidden.” (Bukhari)

Your thoughts are most welcome.