Music

Now, when people use their language,

they don't just say the words on one level,

with one note, like the drone of a bagpipe,

or the sound of one key on the piano.

They add to what they are saying

by making the words go loud and soft,

and up and down.

And if you take that movement further and further, you have singing.

And the rhythms and melodies that songs have can be beautiful,

and muslims have to search out the beauty of sound.

After all, if we don't hear beauty in the sound of a voice in song,

to know what we mean by beauty,

how can we recognise the beauty of the sound of the Qur'an.

Songs are useful for many reasons.

Mothers sing lullabies to get their babies to sleep.

Fishermen will sing so they all pull together when they are hauling in their nets.

Armies will sing so that everyone marches in time together,

so that no-one slows down and gets left behind.

Working to a rhythm, a beat, helps muscles keep going without getting tired.

But there are those who say that music is forbidden in Islam,

even though it can be heard all across the muslim world.

Countries have their national anthems,

as well as folk songs that describe their history

and famous people and events from their past.

And of course local popular music is on the radio everywhere,

including heavy metal and rock songs and rap.

Muslims use all kinds of instruments,

stringed instruments, flutes, all kinds of drums,

and even the gamelan bells of Indonesia.

Al-Qithara, the guitar, was played in muslim Spain over 900 years ago.

And all music was not just sung and played for fun.

Muslims used music to heal patients in hospitals,

and in every muslim country's traditions

through history up to today,

music has been played and sung so that its beauty could help people draw closer to God,

such as the ghazal of Iran,

and the qawwali of Pakistan.

All muslim cultures have had their music.

What keeps it from being forbidden is the intention of the people that make it.

Is it to stir up human passions

or is it for a greater purpose

and for the glory of God?