LETTER 93: LISTENING TO MUSIC

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate!

Brother Shamsuddin, may God honor you! Hearts and minds are the treasure houses of secrets, and mines filled with precious gems of hidden meaning. The manner of concealment of those secrets and gems is like that of a fire within iron and stone. It is listening to music that brings forth the fire that was previously hidden in stone and iron! It is not possible for listening to educe anything from the heart if it is not already there, just as nothing can exude from a porous pot that is empty to begin with!

Hence it should be known that whoever is overcome in face of the love of the Lord, and who yearns to see Him, finds that listening to music is a stimulant that excites his holy desire and serves to further strengthen his love and ardent yearning by bringing it out into the open. Listening brings forth the fire in his breast from its hiding place, and makes it visible in favored states, by means of clear manifestation and mutual enlightenment. This could not have taken place within the blockaded heart itself. Know that if anyone is destined to experience this grace, and to have these blessings showered upon him, then these exalted states, in the language of the Sufis, are referred to as ecstatic outpourings. At this stage, listening to music is lawful-even desirable! Some even say it is necessary that this step should be taken, for although something may be playful in this world, yet when it reaches the stage of hearing the Lord himself, it becomes something truly wonderful. How greatly a person is transformed in his very essence! Whatever then comes to him will also be transformed.

Hence it is that spiritual guides have said that, although the verses sung before them might smack of the tavern, yet when they hear the word anion, they think of the vision of God, just as the word separation connects a veil between them and the Lord and the word eyes, the glance of the Lord. Imagine the pleasure of the person who hears I have poured out on you a love from Me that you might be brought before My eyes (Q20:39). The word tresses reminds them of nearness to the Lord, so that they might bring us nearer to God (Q19:3). It could easily happen that the word tresses might make someone think of the whole chain of attributes of the divinity itself, as the poet has noted:

I said: I shall count the ring of tresses upon her head, In that way I shall remove all ignorance of what concerns her! Laughing at me, she twisted sharply her billow of dark tresses, And reduced to confusion all my careful calculations!

This means that, if anybody wishes, by means of his own powers, understand even the tip of the hair of the wonders of God, he will all into such confusion that all his counting will be incorrect, and all his intellectual efforts utterly confounded! It could be that tresses might be taken for the darkness of infidelity, and light for the brightness of faith, as has been said:

Your tresses snatched away my heart, which belonged to Your face.

Look at the Hindu! He has grasped what, by right, belongs to the Muslims!

Or again,

The darkness of Your tresses has darkened the face of fortune;

The light of Your face has turned the oppression of night into day!

By the word infidelity Sufis understand the concealing of one's being and actions, and by the word apostasy they understand a turning away from self. When a venerable Sufi heard the following couplet being recited,

Until you become an infidel, love will not purchase you: Who but an apostate can do the work of a qalandar.

He raised a cry and swooned away! When he came to his senses, people asked him what had happened. He replied: The dictionary meaning of 'infidelity' is 'to cover up, so an unbeliever is one who 'covers up A farmer, who hides his seeds in the earth, is also called an 'unbeliever. The meaning of the verse would be this: As long as the righteousness of your very being and actions has not been hidden from yourself as well as from other people, you cannot genuinely lay claim to be a lover! Further, until you turn away from yourself and become freed from your animal soul, you should not say anything about being a qalandar!

Mention of wine and intoxication also has a different meaning for Sufis:

If you were to measure out two thousand cups of wine How could you relish it, unless you first tasted it?

These words are meant to suggest that religious matters cannot be correctly appreciated by hearing and by knowledge alone, but only by tasting them! If you speak a great deal about love, ardent desire, austerity, fear of God, and so on, and even compose books about them, there will be no profit at all until you yourself are changed by the particular virtue you extol.

Take note, too, of verses about taverns. Whoever has never been to a tavern has no faith: In the tavern is the very foundation of the faith!

The poet is here saying that until those human qualities that pre-dominate within you are destroyed, then those other qualities that lie hidden within your inner being cannot come to birth and begin to flourish.

It could happen that because Sufis are in a mystical state they might understand some Arabic verse to mean something other than what the words actually say. Someone said:

Even when I dream, it is all about You!

And a Sufi, on hearing this, was overcome. He was asked, What is this? You don't even know what he is talking about! He replied, What do you mean by saying that I don't know? He is saying that I am rejected, abandoned, and in great danger.

One of the venerable Sufis was walking in the bazaar. He heard a cucumber-seller calling out, Ten cucumbers for a penny! He fell into an ecstatic trance. The people asked him about what had happened. He said: When ten just men are sold for but a penny, what must the wicked be worth?

It can happen that there is one and the same couplet, but each one who hears it understands it in a different way, according to his own condition and outlook. For example, a slave girl, while filling a pitcher at the river bank in Baghdad, was singing this couplet:

Undoubtedly the Master of the heavens is pure, But lovers are caught up in grief and difficulties!

One man fell into a trance, exclaiming, You are right! Another also fell into an ecstasy, muttering, You are wrong! Both of them were correct! The one who said she was correct had his attention fixed on all the grief and effort of a lover, while the one who dis agreed with her saw only the spirit, contentment, and union with the Friend that is found in love. Sometimes it happens that the mere sound of the words, without even understanding their meaning, is enough to send them into a trance.

Finally, have you ever heard about Arab camels that get so intoxicated by the singing of their drivers that, even though they are heavily laden, they run so swiftly that, when they arrive at their destination and the singing ceases, they immediately fall down in a heap and die? That is the sort of listening that befits this group! Whoever is overcome by whatever happens to him, no matter what he listens to, is hearing Him. Wherever he looks, he sees Him. If he rejects any thing he sees or hears, he rejects a chance to experience Him. Whoever has ever been inflamed by the fire of love of God or even of some unsubstantial creature-should understand this matter very well!

For the present, it is necessary to pay close attention to one fundamental thing, in order to escape from the possible pitfalls and calamities involved in listening to music. It is this: You should understand anything that pertains to defective qualities or to change as referring to yourself, while you should understand whatever is concerned with qualities such as beauty, glory, existence, beneficence, and anything that evokes similar perfections as referring to God Almighty. If you do not do this, you are in danger of falling into blasphemy! This is the reason why listening to music is a great danger for one's friendship with God Almighty. If someone, for example, hears this couplet,

Where now is that inclination to kindness I used to experience? What is the reason for such dejection today?

then, even though he used to be strong in facing up to adversity, he might suddenly become weak and, on this account, when he hears this couplet, imagine that God Almighty used to favor him, but now has changed. Yet to suppose that this change has taken place in God Almighty himself would be blasphemy. He should understand that there is no possibility at all of change in God. It is completely out of the question that any rejection, veil, or vexation should proceed from that direction. The divine threshold lies open to one and all, just like the sun, which showers its light upon all; but if anyone remains in the shade of some wall, then it is he who remains veiled as far as the sun is concerned. The change is in him, not in the sun, as has been said:

O beloved, the sun has risen a long time ago: If it does not shine on someone, it is his own misfortune!

The responsibility for the veil should be ascribed to a person's own misfortune, or to some fault that he has committed, but not to God, for He is completely unstained by all of these things. Those who are impure, stiff-necked, frustrated, or ill-fortuned are astonished that anyone could derive pleasure from listening to such music. Listening with pleasure, ecstatic utterances, an agitated condition, and change of color-all astonish them. Remember that beasts marvel at the delicious taste of almond syrup, the impotent are surprised at the plea sure of intercourse, and the ignorant stand awestruck at the pleasure of mystical knowledge of the Lord, His glory, His greatness, and the wonders He has fashioned. A person greatly blessed by God is beyond the estimation of men! No matter how importunate someone may be, it is impossible to praise Him adequately in this abode. What wonder is it if a blind man is not interested in the sight of greenery and flowing water, for he has no eyes with which to see. Also, if a child rejects the enjoyment of kingship and dominion, what cause for astonishment is that? He is only interested in playing! What use does he have for the satisfaction of ruling a kingdom?

If a person's heart is captivated by the ardent love of somebody upon whom it is unlawful for him to look, then everything that he hears at a musical gathering would turn out to be understood with respect to this forbidden person. Listening to music is strictly prohibited for such a person, since he would be agitated with thoughts about the person, and become concerned with various exciting and dangerous actions. Anyone or anything that incites a person toward what is forbidden is itself forbidden. Nobody disagrees on this point. If the love of God is not uppermost in a person's heart, so that listening to music becomes something commendable for him, and an occasion for overcoming sensual fancies if it is not this, then listening would be unlawful for him. Others say that listening to music is permissible for him, just as other kinds of actions are permissible for him.

Listening to songs can be divided into three categories, lawful, forbidden, and permissible. Hence it is that a venerable Sufi, when questioned on the matter, said: Listening to music is desirable for those devoted to God, permissible for those who vacillate, and improper for people given over to sensuality and pleasure! All the sheikhs agree that, while a person is engaged in reciting the Quran, he should recite it in such a way that no obstruction is placed in the way of understanding it.

One day the Apostle was asked about odes and poetry. He said: They are merely words. As such, they can be either good or bad. In other words, whatever it is lawful to listen to whether it be wisdom, advice, rational demonstration of verses concerning the Lord, the remembrance of His blessings and favors, the qualities of the righteous and of those who fear God, in verse or prose all are lawful. On the other hand, listening to anything that concerns what is forbidden. such as backbiting, shameful things, disparagement, satirizing anybody, or blasphemous talk, in both verse and prose-all are forbidden. The description of cities, houses, past ages, peoples, and so on is permissible, while descriptions of moles, shapely figures, tresses, lips, eyes, and other similar things that pander to the sensual soul are all improper. This censure applies both to verse and prose as well.

As for those who are close to the Lord, who are given over to struggle with self and austerities and who can differentiate between what originates from human nature and that which is from on high-as described in the first category-then the listening to any sort of music becomes permissible for them. The Messenger of God listened to the recitals of verse, while the companions composed verse and also listened to recitals.

In this whole matter a number of people are at fault. Some condemn the listening to all verse as forbidden by the Law-yet spend their days and nights backbiting their fellow Muslims! Another group proclaims that it is lawful for anybody to listen to any music that strikes his fancy, and act accordingly. They spend their whole time listening to frivolous songs and arguing with one another about them. Realize from all this that it would be quite wrong to make any categorical statement about any matter that is under dispute and of doubtful value.

The author of the Kashf ul-Mabjub [Revelation of secrets), Ali Hujwiri, who was a radiant luminary of his age, said: Once when I was in Merv, one of the leading traditionists said to me. 'I have writ ten a book to demonstrate that listening to music is permissible. I re- plied, 'A great difficulty has appeared in the faith. A noted leader has legitimized that frivolity which is the root of all wickedness.' 'If you don't consider it lawful, he retorted, 'then why do you practice it? I declared: 'Any instruction concerning it must depend on the circumstances. No blanket statement can be made about it. If listening to music produces a laudable effect in one's heart, then it is lawful. If its effects are unlawful, so too is it. Likewise, if the effects of listening are permissible, so is the listening. It is impossible to make an absolute statement about something that, on the surface, seems to be bad, but that is inwardly illuminated by many compelling reasons.

Consider dancing, too. Imam Ghazzali has cited three reasons for dancing. He said: The command about dancing refers to what moves a person to dance. If something praiseworthy stimulates a person to dance, and the dancing helps him grow, and strengthens him, then the dancing is also praiseworthy. If something despicable stimulates him to dance, then the dance also is despicable. But if it is something permissible that inspires him, then the dance also is permissible. He also declared: It became customary for a group of the companions to dance for joy when anything wonderful happened.

There are, moreover, some good people who dance with a swaying motion even though they have not been overcome by the ecstasy of union, they simply move around in imitation of the dervishes.

Many more are moved to perfectly balanced movement in order to show that they are not in any ecstasy or trance, to save themselves from any falsehood. Yet, despite all that has been said, people attest that it is not good to make a habit of dancing. For the most part, the states of people who merely imitate others take their origin from sport and frivolity or from similar activities. Men of spiritual insight should shun their example lest they become of little worth in the eyes of people, who will then cease to follow them. There is something unseemly, as far as the Law and the mind are concerned, in all forms of play. In short, it is impossible for the most excellent of men to engage in such activities.

Nevertheless, when any lightness appears in the heart while listening to songs, and a floating of the heart, occasioned by divine intimations, takes possession of someone and, as time goes by, this gets stronger, a restless condition arises of its own accord, and all order and custom are removed. That agitated state which makes its appearance could not simply be called dancing. Nor is it a mere movement of one's legs. Nor is it a pandering to nature, since it is a purification of one's soul. Anybody who called that dancing would be very far from the path of truth. This is a state that cannot be described in words. Unless you have tasted it, you do not even know what is meant. All movement of this group would be an inner stirring, not dancing. Anyone who talks about this state by itself proves that he has merely been dancing, and has not had this inner seizure!

There are Traditions that deal with the genuine ecstatic states that can occur while listening to songs. One such genuine Tradition confirms this matter, and I shall bring it to your attention here. Uns has related this incident: I was near the Apostle when the great Gabriel appeared to him. He said: O Apostle of God, here is some good news for you! The dervishes of your community will enter paradise five hundred years before the rich. The Apostle was filled with joy upon hearing this news and said, Is there anyone present who can recite a poem for the occasion? A man said, 'Yes, I can, O Apostle He replied, Then recite! This was the poem that all heard:

The serpent of love has stung my heart:

There is no physician, and none to administer a charm,

Except that Beloved with whom I am enthralled.

With Him is the charm and the antidote as well!

The Prophet and also the companions were so enraptured that the Prophet's cloak slipped off his shoulders. When this condition subsided, Mu'awiyya ibn Abu Sufyan exclaimed: What a good game you are playing, O Apostle! Get far away, O Mu'awiyya! retorted the Apostle: No one who fails to rejoice when he hears the description of the Friend can possibly be favored! The Prophet's cloak was divided into four hundred pieces and distributed among those present. It is also related that the Prophet was once seized with such emotion and clapped his hands so vigorously on account of what he heard that drops of blood appeared on his fingers. He is also reported to have said: Whenever a dervish claps his hands while listening to music, he expels any sensuality within him; whenever he stamps his foot upon the ground, he ejects any lust inside him; and whenever he shouts out in praise of God, he drives away any desires remaining within him.

It is permissible to shout out in a musical gathering whenever one is inwardly overcome by ecstatic union, for one cannot help oneself in such a state. It is related that Moses was once saying something to the Israelites. Someone shouted out. Moses scolded him. When he was next in prayer, God said to him: He was shouting out on ac count of his love for Me. You should not try to stop him or anybody else who weeps, cries out, or is comforted by being close to Me!

Sheikh Abu Abdur Rahman has collected all these Traditions in a book on the topic of listening to music. Realize now that everyone who has some standing in these musical gatherings can have his standing measured according to how much he imbibes, and the taste that he develops for it, just as every penitent is helped to foster his grief and repentance by whatever he hears, while someone longing for God would experience a growth in his eagerness to see the face of God. A believer would be strengthened in his certainty, a disciple would want to continue his investigation of Truth; a lover would be further cut off from creatures, while an indigent one would experience the real foundation of his placing no hope in others.

It is said that listening can be likened to the sun, which shines on all things, but the measure of its effect on each creature depends on its quality and what is imbibed. One is burnt up, another is made to shine. One is helped to flourish, while another melts away. If anyone were to ask how it could happen that someone who has no knowledge or awareness of himself nevertheless manages to dance according to the beat of the singer and recognizes the voice and melody of the singer, the answer would be that when a man is no longer shackled by the strength of his animal soul and has no attachment to his own opinions and ideas, his heart becomes both more illuminated and strengthened. And when this weakening of the animal soul takes place, and the heart is illuminated, inevitably he will understand the beat of the music and the meaning of the singers

If it is said that since they want to listen to God and for the sake of God, then it would be fitting that sitting in the company of those who are close to God should be for the purpose of hearing the recital of the Quran, not that of singers of songs of merriment. The reason for saying this is that the Quran is the Word of God, and that should come first. The answer to such an objection is that there are many gatherings where people do listen to the recitation of the Quran. It can happen that many individuals fall unconscious when they hear it, while many others have even given up their souls while listening to Quranic recitals, as is amply documented. The reason for substituting singers for reciters of the Quran, and songs for the Quran, is that the Quran, in all respects, is not suited to all the states of the lovers of God, for one finds in it stories about the infidels and commands concerning ordinary affairs and worldly matters, things such as this verse: A mother is entitled to a sixth of the inheritance, and a half- share should be given to each daughter (Q4:12). Or again, this verse could be recited: If a woman's husband dies, she should remain in seclusion for four months and ten days (Q2:234). These and similar verses scarcely serve to enkindle the fire of love and ardent longing. Nevertheless, anyone who is enraptured with the Final End of life hears Him whenever he listens to anything, even if the meaning of the words is far from Him. Such a person, however, would be rare!

A second reason to substitute songs for recitation of the Quran is that so many people already know the Quran by heart, while many others read it. Yet we know that, in most cases, we do not pay all that much attention to anything we hear frequently. Do you not see that when the Arabs first came and heard the Quran, they would weep and various states appeared in them? Abu Bakr said: I also used to be like you, but now my heart has grown secure. It is now stilled by the Quran!

The condition of listening properly, however, depends on the observance of three things the place, the time, and the company. The place should be a hospice of the sheikhs, or some building that is clean and tidy, well ventilated and well lit. The company should consist of friends and dervishes, people endowed with discrimination, and able to converse properly. They should be people who practice austerities. As for the time, it should be when one's heart is completely free of all preoccupations. Moreover, proper conduct at such sessions demands that one should not take part until one's heart is actually freed from such things. Nor should you make a habit of it. You should participate only from time to time, lest the effect of its excellence upon your heart be lost. It is not fitting to try to look for an approving eye while in a charged atmosphere. If anybody renders assistance, he should not be hindered from helping. There should be no attempt to control what is happening to anyone, nor should a person be judged because of the particular verse being recited, for that is very distracting, and useless. It should also be noted that if the singer sings in a pleasing manner, one should not comment, You sing very well! Or, if he does not sing well, and his verses are not nicely balanced, one should not declare, Sing better! There should not even be any altercation with him in your heart! You should not permit him to come in the way at all. You should concentrate on listening attentively. If a group is seized by what is heard, but you are not granted a share in their rapture, it might be because, when you yourself were sober, you looked with disdain on their drunken state. It behooves you, on such occasions, to be full of supplication, and enable the Lord of time to shower His blessings upon you. If you are not granted the blessings mentioned, you should at least become closely attached to an experienced and favored man.

The second point to be observed is that all should bow their heads and not look at one another. They should not speak to one another during the session, nor have drinks of water. They should not look to the right or to the left, shake hands or heads, or disturb someone else by any untoward movement. Brother, they should be as composed as they would be when sitting on their heels during formal prayer. Every heart should be raised to God, Who is to be praised and glorified. Each one should wait patiently for Him, until the indescribable bounty is vouchsafed to him from the hidden world, on account of his listening

When anybody overpowered by ecstatic union stands up, the others should support him by also standing up. If his turban falls off, they should put it back on his head. All of these are new practices, and are not found among the companions or their immediate successors. Nevertheless, not all innovations are to be reprehended. The vast majority are good, as Imam Shafi used to say. The practice of listening to a recital of the entire Quran during the evenings of Ramazan dates from the Caliph Umar and is certainly a pious practice. A reprehensible innovation would be one that goes against the practice of the Prophet. However, when men have been inspired by a good disposition and heart, and rejoice in such a way that there is no belittling of the Law, then this is something laudable. It would be a bloody business to interfere in the traditional ways in which a particular people are accustomed to do things. The injunction of the Law is, Deal with people according to their particular behavior and disposition, for people will be happy with what agrees with their behavior, but will be scared away by anything that goes against it. What is agreeable to them would be like a binding practice for them. You know, of course, that some of the companions were unhappy to see the Apostle dancing. The reason is that they detested such behavior. The culture of the Arabs is one thing but that of the Persians is quite another! Let the matter rest: we have said enough in this letter about musical sessions and the rules that apply to them.

Peace!

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate!

Brother Shamsuddin, may God honor you! Hearts and minds are the treasure houses of secrets, and mines filled with precious gems of hidden meaning. The manner of concealment of those secrets and gems is like that of a fire within iron and stone. It is listening to music that brings forth the fire that was previously hidden in stone and iron! It is not possible for listening to educe anything from the heart if it is not already there, just as nothing can exude from a porous pot that is empty to begin with!

Hence it should be known that whoever is overcome in face of the love of the Lord, and who yearns to see Him, finds that listening to music is a stimulant that excites his holy desire and serves to further strengthen his love and ardent yearning by bringing it out into the open. Listening brings forth the fire in his breast from its hiding place, and makes it visible in favored states, by means of clear manifestation and mutual enlightenment. This could not have taken place within the blockaded heart itself. Know that if anyone is destined to experience this grace, and to have these blessings showered upon him, then these exalted states, in the language of the Sufis, are referred to as ecstatic outpourings. At this stage, listening to music is lawful-even desirable! Some even say it is necessary that this step should be taken, for although something may be playful in this world, yet when it reaches the stage of hearing the Lord himself, it becomes something truly wonderful. How greatly a person is transformed in his very essence! Whatever then comes to him will also be transformed.

Hence it is that spiritual guides have said that, although the verses sung before them might smack of the tavern, yet when they hear the word anion, they think of the vision of God, just as the word separation connects a veil between them and the Lord and the word eyes, the glance of the Lord. Imagine the pleasure of the person who hears I have poured out on you a love from Me that you might be brought before My eyes (Q20:39). The word tresses reminds them of nearness to the Lord, so that they might bring us nearer to God (Q19:3). It could easily happen that the word tresses might make someone think of the whole chain of attributes of the divinity itself, as the poet has noted:

I said: I shall count the ring of tresses upon her head, In that way I shall remove all ignorance of what concerns her! Laughing at me, she twisted sharply her billow of dark tresses, And reduced to confusion all my careful calculations!

This means that, if anybody wishes, by means of his own powers, understand even the tip of the hair of the wonders of God, he will all into such confusion that all his counting will be incorrect, and all his intellectual efforts utterly confounded! It could be that tresses might be taken for the darkness of infidelity, and light for the brightness of faith, as has been said:

Your tresses snatched away my heart, which belonged to Your face.

Look at the Hindu! He has grasped what, by right, belongs to the Muslims!

Or again,

The darkness of Your tresses has darkened the face of fortune;

The light of Your face has turned the oppression of night into day!

By the word infidelity Sufis understand the concealing of one's being and actions, and by the word apostasy they understand a turning away from self. When a venerable Sufi heard the following couplet being recited,

Until you become an infidel, love will not purchase you: Who but an apostate can do the work of a qalandar.

He raised a cry and swooned away! When he came to his senses, people asked him what had happened. He replied: The dictionary meaning of 'infidelity' is 'to cover up, so an unbeliever is one who 'covers up A farmer, who hides his seeds in the earth, is also called an 'unbeliever. The meaning of the verse would be this: As long as the righteousness of your very being and actions has not been hidden from yourself as well as from other people, you cannot genuinely lay claim to be a lover! Further, until you turn away from yourself and become freed from your animal soul, you should not say anything about being a qalandar!

Mention of wine and intoxication also has a different meaning for Sufis:

If you were to measure out two thousand cups of wine How could you relish it, unless you first tasted it?

These words are meant to suggest that religious matters cannot be correctly appreciated by hearing and by knowledge alone, but only by tasting them! If you speak a great deal about love, ardent desire, austerity, fear of God, and so on, and even compose books about them, there will be no profit at all until you yourself are changed by the particular virtue you extol.

Take note, too, of verses about taverns. Whoever has never been to a tavern has no faith: In the tavern is the very foundation of the faith!

The poet is here saying that until those human qualities that pre-dominate within you are destroyed, then those other qualities that lie hidden within your inner being cannot come to birth and begin to flourish.

It could happen that because Sufis are in a mystical state they might understand some Arabic verse to mean something other than what the words actually say. Someone said:

Even when I dream, it is all about You!

And a Sufi, on hearing this, was overcome. He was asked, What is this? You don't even know what he is talking about! He replied, What do you mean by saying that I don't know? He is saying that I am rejected, abandoned, and in great danger.

One of the venerable Sufis was walking in the bazaar. He heard a cucumber-seller calling out, Ten cucumbers for a penny! He fell into an ecstatic trance. The people asked him about what had happened. He said: When ten just men are sold for but a penny, what must the wicked be worth?

It can happen that there is one and the same couplet, but each one who hears it understands it in a different way, according to his own condition and outlook. For example, a slave girl, while filling a pitcher at the river bank in Baghdad, was singing this couplet:

Undoubtedly the Master of the heavens is pure, But lovers are caught up in grief and difficulties!

One man fell into a trance, exclaiming, You are right! Another also fell into an ecstasy, muttering, You are wrong! Both of them were correct! The one who said she was correct had his attention fixed on all the grief and effort of a lover, while the one who dis agreed with her saw only the spirit, contentment, and union with the Friend that is found in love. Sometimes it happens that the mere sound of the words, without even understanding their meaning, is enough to send them into a trance.

Finally, have you ever heard about Arab camels that get so intoxicated by the singing of their drivers that, even though they are heavily laden, they run so swiftly that, when they arrive at their destination and the singing ceases, they immediately fall down in a heap and die? That is the sort of listening that befits this group! Whoever is overcome by whatever happens to him, no matter what he listens to, is hearing Him. Wherever he looks, he sees Him. If he rejects any thing he sees or hears, he rejects a chance to experience Him. Whoever has ever been inflamed by the fire of love of God or even of some unsubstantial creature-should understand this matter very well!

For the present, it is necessary to pay close attention to one fundamental thing, in order to escape from the possible pitfalls and calamities involved in listening to music. It is this: You should understand anything that pertains to defective qualities or to change as referring to yourself, while you should understand whatever is concerned with qualities such as beauty, glory, existence, beneficence, and anything that evokes similar perfections as referring to God Almighty. If you do not do this, you are in danger of falling into blasphemy! This is the reason why listening to music is a great danger for one's friendship with God Almighty. If someone, for example, hears this couplet,

Where now is that inclination to kindness I used to experience? What is the reason for such dejection today?

then, even though he used to be strong in facing up to adversity, he might suddenly become weak and, on this account, when he hears this couplet, imagine that God Almighty used to favor him, but now has changed. Yet to suppose that this change has taken place in God Almighty himself would be blasphemy. He should understand that there is no possibility at all of change in God. It is completely out of the question that any rejection, veil, or vexation should proceed from that direction. The divine threshold lies open to one and all, just like the sun, which showers its light upon all; but if anyone remains in the shade of some wall, then it is he who remains veiled as far as the sun is concerned. The change is in him, not in the sun, as has been said:

O beloved, the sun has risen a long time ago: If it does not shine on someone, it is his own misfortune!

The responsibility for the veil should be ascribed to a person's own misfortune, or to some fault that he has committed, but not to God, for He is completely unstained by all of these things. Those who are impure, stiff-necked, frustrated, or ill-fortuned are astonished that anyone could derive pleasure from listening to such music. Listening with pleasure, ecstatic utterances, an agitated condition, and change of color-all astonish them. Remember that beasts marvel at the delicious taste of almond syrup, the impotent are surprised at the plea sure of intercourse, and the ignorant stand awestruck at the pleasure of mystical knowledge of the Lord, His glory, His greatness, and the wonders He has fashioned. A person greatly blessed by God is beyond the estimation of men! No matter how importunate someone may be, it is impossible to praise Him adequately in this abode. What wonder is it if a blind man is not interested in the sight of greenery and flowing water, for he has no eyes with which to see. Also, if a child rejects the enjoyment of kingship and dominion, what cause for astonishment is that? He is only interested in playing! What use does he have for the satisfaction of ruling a kingdom?

If a person's heart is captivated by the ardent love of somebody upon whom it is unlawful for him to look, then everything that he hears at a musical gathering would turn out to be understood with respect to this forbidden person. Listening to music is strictly prohibited for such a person, since he would be agitated with thoughts about the person, and become concerned with various exciting and dangerous actions. Anyone or anything that incites a person toward what is forbidden is itself forbidden. Nobody disagrees on this point. If the love of God is not uppermost in a person's heart, so that listening to music becomes something commendable for him, and an occasion for overcoming sensual fancies if it is not this, then listening would be unlawful for him. Others say that listening to music is permissible for him, just as other kinds of actions are permissible for him.

Listening to songs can be divided into three categories, lawful, forbidden, and permissible. Hence it is that a venerable Sufi, when questioned on the matter, said: Listening to music is desirable for those devoted to God, permissible for those who vacillate, and improper for people given over to sensuality and pleasure! All the sheikhs agree that, while a person is engaged in reciting the Quran, he should recite it in such a way that no obstruction is placed in the way of understanding it.

One day the Apostle was asked about odes and poetry. He said: They are merely words. As such, they can be either good or bad. In other words, whatever it is lawful to listen to whether it be wisdom, advice, rational demonstration of verses concerning the Lord, the remembrance of His blessings and favors, the qualities of the righteous and of those who fear God, in verse or prose all are lawful. On the other hand, listening to anything that concerns what is forbidden. such as backbiting, shameful things, disparagement, satirizing anybody, or blasphemous talk, in both verse and prose-all are forbidden. The description of cities, houses, past ages, peoples, and so on is permissible, while descriptions of moles, shapely figures, tresses, lips, eyes, and other similar things that pander to the sensual soul are all improper. This censure applies both to verse and prose as well.

As for those who are close to the Lord, who are given over to struggle with self and austerities and who can differentiate between what originates from human nature and that which is from on high-as described in the first category-then the listening to any sort of music becomes permissible for them. The Messenger of God listened to the recitals of verse, while the companions composed verse and also listened to recitals.

In this whole matter a number of people are at fault. Some condemn the listening to all verse as forbidden by the Law-yet spend their days and nights backbiting their fellow Muslims! Another group proclaims that it is lawful for anybody to listen to any music that strikes his fancy, and act accordingly. They spend their whole time listening to frivolous songs and arguing with one another about them. Realize from all this that it would be quite wrong to make any categorical statement about any matter that is under dispute and of doubtful value.

The author of the Kashf ul-Mabjub [Revelation of secrets), Ali Hujwiri, who was a radiant luminary of his age, said: Once when I was in Merv, one of the leading traditionists said to me. 'I have writ ten a book to demonstrate that listening to music is permissible. I re- plied, 'A great difficulty has appeared in the faith. A noted leader has legitimized that frivolity which is the root of all wickedness.' 'If you don't consider it lawful, he retorted, 'then why do you practice it? I declared: 'Any instruction concerning it must depend on the circumstances. No blanket statement can be made about it. If listening to music produces a laudable effect in one's heart, then it is lawful. If its effects are unlawful, so too is it. Likewise, if the effects of listening are permissible, so is the listening. It is impossible to make an absolute statement about something that, on the surface, seems to be bad, but that is inwardly illuminated by many compelling reasons.

Consider dancing, too. Imam Ghazzali has cited three reasons for dancing. He said: The command about dancing refers to what moves a person to dance. If something praiseworthy stimulates a person to dance, and the dancing helps him grow, and strengthens him, then the dancing is also praiseworthy. If something despicable stimulates him to dance, then the dance also is despicable. But if it is something permissible that inspires him, then the dance also is permissible. He also declared: It became customary for a group of the companions to dance for joy when anything wonderful happened.

There are, moreover, some good people who dance with a swaying motion even though they have not been overcome by the ecstasy of union, they simply move around in imitation of the dervishes.

Many more are moved to perfectly balanced movement in order to show that they are not in any ecstasy or trance, to save themselves from any falsehood. Yet, despite all that has been said, people attest that it is not good to make a habit of dancing. For the most part, the states of people who merely imitate others take their origin from sport and frivolity or from similar activities. Men of spiritual insight should shun their example lest they become of little worth in the eyes of people, who will then cease to follow them. There is something unseemly, as far as the Law and the mind are concerned, in all forms of play. In short, it is impossible for the most excellent of men to engage in such activities.

Nevertheless, when any lightness appears in the heart while listening to songs, and a floating of the heart, occasioned by divine intimations, takes possession of someone and, as time goes by, this gets stronger, a restless condition arises of its own accord, and all order and custom are removed. That agitated state which makes its appearance could not simply be called dancing. Nor is it a mere movement of one's legs. Nor is it a pandering to nature, since it is a purification of one's soul. Anybody who called that dancing would be very far from the path of truth. This is a state that cannot be described in words. Unless you have tasted it, you do not even know what is meant. All movement of this group would be an inner stirring, not dancing. Anyone who talks about this state by itself proves that he has merely been dancing, and has not had this inner seizure!

There are Traditions that deal with the genuine ecstatic states that can occur while listening to songs. One such genuine Tradition confirms this matter, and I shall bring it to your attention here. Uns has related this incident: I was near the Apostle when the great Gabriel appeared to him. He said: O Apostle of God, here is some good news for you! The dervishes of your community will enter paradise five hundred years before the rich. The Apostle was filled with joy upon hearing this news and said, Is there anyone present who can recite a poem for the occasion? A man said, 'Yes, I can, O Apostle He replied, Then recite! This was the poem that all heard: