Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani: The Hadith of The Two Singing Girls In The House of The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم

[caption id="attachment_885" align="alignleft" width="192" caption="Kufi by Lutfi"][/caption]

By Ustadh Abdus Shakur

Imam al-Bukari narrated in his Sahih, in the chapter concerning The Two Eids , from ‘A’isha رضي الله عنها who said:

روى الإمام البخاري في صحيحه في كتاب العيدين, باب الحِراب والدَرَق يوم العيد, حديث رقم 949, عن عائشة قالت: دخل علىّ رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وعندي جاريتان تغنّيان بغناء بُعاث فاضطجع على الفراش وحوّل وجهه, ودخل أبو بكر فانتهرني, وقال: مِزمار الشيطان عند النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم, فأقبل عليه رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم, فقال: دعْهما,فلما غفل غمزتهما,فخرجتا

The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم)came into my room when there where with me two girls who were singing/chanting [تغنّيان ] the songs [or poems] or Bi‘àth [the day of a great battle between the two Arab tribes of Medina before the advent of Islam]. He laid down on his mat and turned away his face and Abu Bakr came in and scolded me and said, “[What is this?] The sound of Satan in the presence of the Prophet( صلى الله عليه وسلم)!” He said [The Messenger of Allah"], “Leave them alone.” When he was not paying attention, I signaled to them and they went out.

Ibn Hajr Al-Asqalani commented on this hadith, in his famous commentary called Fath al-Bari saying :

واستدل جماعة من الصوفية بحديث الباب على إباحة الغناء وسماعه بآلة وبغير آلة,

ويكفي في رد ذلك تصريح عائشة في الحديث الذي في الباب بقولها وليستا بمغنّتين فنفت عنهما من طريق المعنى ما أثبته باللفظ, لأن الغناء يطلق على رفع الصوت وعلى الترنّم الذي يسمّيه العرب النَصْب بفتح النون وسكون المهملة وعلى الحداء, ولا يسمّي فاعله مغنّيا وإنما يسمّي بذلك من ينشد بتمطيط وتكسير وتهيج وتشويق بما فيه تعريض بالفواحش أو تصريح,

قال القرطبي: قولها ليستا بمغنّتين أي ليستا ممن يعرف الغناء كما يعرفه المغنّيات المعروفات بذلك, وهذا منها تحرّز عن الغناء المعتاد عند المشتهرين به, وهو الذي يحرّك الساكن ويبعث الكامن, وهذا النوع إذا كان في شعر فيه وصف محاسن النساء والخمر وغيرهما من الأمور المحرَّمة لا يختلف في تحريمه,

قال: وأما ما ابتدعه الصوفية في ذلك فمن قبيل ما لا يختلف في تحريمه, لكن النفوس الشهوانية غلبت على كثير ممن ينسب إلى الخير, حتى لقد ظهرت من كثير منهم فعلات المجانين والصبيان, حتى رقصوا بحركات متطابقة وتقطيعات متلاحقة, وانتهى التواقح بقوم منهم إلى أن جعلوها من باب القرب وصالح الأعمال, وأن ذلك يثمر سَنِيّ الأحوال

وهذا -على التحقيق- من آثار الزندقة, وقول أهل المخرفة والله المستعان. انتهي. وينبغي أن يعكس مرادهم ويقرأ سيّئ عوض النون الخفيفة المكسورة بغير همز بمثنّاة تحتانية ثقيلة مهموزا.

From amongst the Sufis, they have adduced from this hadith, the permissibility of singing and listening to it with musical instruments, and without them.

Sufficient for their refutation is the next hadith of this chapter in which she [A’isha] says “they were not singing girls,” for thereby she expressly denied what her words had given to understand since al-ghinà’ / الغناء can refer to “raising the voice” and to the “intoning” which the Arabs call al-naãb / النَصْب and “to chanting” [to drive the camels] الحداء’; and none of those are technically called “singers”; rather, that name is used for someone who raises his voice prolonging /بتمطيط the words and distorting them [their pronunciation] / تكسير , in a provocative and infatuating manner.

Al-Qurtubi said:

Her words “they were not singers” means that they were not “those who knew how to sing the way those who are known for singing do”. She purposely said this in order to clarify that she did not mean the singing that those who are famous for it do; which is that singing that arouses what is dormant and brings out what is hidden. This type of singing, when accompanied by poetry, that mentions the charms of women and wine and other prohibited things, there is no difference of opinion [among those whose opinion counts] that it is prohibited.

Then Qurtubi went on to say:

As for what the Sufis have innovated in this connection, it is something about which there is no difference of opinion about its unlawfulness. However, the lustful soul has prevailed over many who [otherwise] associate with what is good, so that many of them perform the antics of madmen and children; indeed, some of them even dance with repeated movements and rhythmic jerking, and some of them have had the audacity to claim that this dancing is a form of worship and a pious act and that it produces high states.

However, the truth is that it is heretical deviation (al-zandaqah / الزندقة) and stupid talk.

What al-Qurtubi said “so that many of them perform the antics of madmen and children” was also the conclusion of Imam Malik, as Qadi Iyad narrated in his book Tadrib al-Madarik :

“We were with Malik while his companions were all around him. A man from Nusaybin [in Mardin Province of Turkey] said, “There are people where we live who are called ‘Sufis’; they have a big feast and then they start to recite qasidas. Then they get up and dance.” Malik said, “Are they children?” He said, “No.” He [Malik] said, “Are they crazy?” He said, “No. They are aged men possessed of reason along with others.” Malik said, “I never heard of any people of Islam doing that.” He said, “Indeed, they eat and then they get up and dance indefatigably and one of them slaps his head with his hand while another slaps his face.” Thereupon Malik laughed and then went into his house. The companions of Malik said to the man, Verily you are of ill fortune to our companion [Malik]! We have been sitting with him for over thirty years, yet we never saw him laugh till today!” “

Source : al-faqih.com