“…While we were with ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf—may Allah be pleased with him—on the Ḥajj route, heading toward Mecca, he stepped off the road and said to Rabāḥ ibn al-Mughatraf⦗1⦘, ‘Sing for us, Abū Ḥassān,’ for the man was skilled in the nasb. As Rabāḥ was chanting for him, ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb—may Allah be pleased with him—caught up with us during his caliphate and asked, ‘What is this?’ ʿAbd al-Raḥmān replied, ‘There is nothing wrong with it; we are simply amusing ourselves and shortening the road for us.’ ʿUmar said, ‘If you are going to recite anything, then let it be the poetry of Ḍirār ibn al-Khaṭṭāb.’ Ḍirār was a man from Banū Muḥārib ibn Fihr.”

Al-Bayhaqī recorded it (10/224) with a good chain and said:

“Al-nasb is a type of Bedouin singing that resembles the ḥidāʾ (camel-driver’s chant).” This was stated by Abū ʿUbayd al-Harawī.

Al-Qāmūs adds: “The Arabs’ nasb is a form of their song softer than the ḥidāʾ.”

I say: These ḥadiths and reports provide clear evidence for the permissibility of singing without instruments on certain occasions—such as reminders of death, yearning for one’s family and homeland, or lightening the spirit and distracting oneself from the rigours and hardships of travel, and the like—so long as it is not taken as a profession, does not exceed the bounds of moderation, and is not accompanied by swaying, twisting, or foot-stamping that would compromise one’s dignity. This is illustrated by the ḥadith of Umm ʿAlqamah, the freedwoman of ʿĀʾishah:

“Her brother’s daughters were circumcised and suffered from it, so it was said to ʿĀʾishah—may Allah be pleased with her—‘Mother of the Believers, shall we not call someone to entertain them?’ She replied, ‘Yes.’ She then sent⦗2⦘ …”