cut them down and benefit from their trunks and their palm fronds, but he burned them because that was more humiliating.

Therefore, the person in whose possession they are is addressed [with this duty]. Then those in authority must break and destroy them, because they are responsible for the community in this matter. They are able to break them and are not incapable of doing so; hence, they are obliged to break them, lest evil become widespread among their people. If those in authority fear Allah, Exalted is He, in their conduct toward the community, the community will fear its Lord in its conduct toward them. But if matters are reversed, the outcome will likewise be reversed. For whoever humbles people in obedience to Allah, Allah will honor him through that obedience. This is an established fact.

Therefore, those in authority must break these instruments, because they harm society at large, public security, and the rulers themselves. For when souls are kept far from the Creator, they show no mercy to created beings. These things keep people far from the Creator, because they distract and turn them away from the path of Allah, from the remembrance of Allah, and from prayer.

Is an individual required to break these flutes?

The answer is: No, because he has no authority.

Is he permitted to break them?

This depends. If doing so will result in greater harm, he should not break them—for example, if breaking them would cause discord, such that their owner confronts him, disputes with him, and quarrels with him, and perhaps harm may arise between them. In that case, he should not break them; rather, when he hears them, he should flee from them. But if there is no discord—for example, if he comes upon them at a time of