Thus, the term “singing” (ghināʾ) is applied to various practices:
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The chanting of pilgrims along the roads. Some non-Arab pilgrims on their way to the ḥajj recite poems in which they describe the Kaaba, Zamzam, and the Maqām (the Station). Listening to such poems is permissible, and their recitation is not of the sort that provokes rapturous exhilaration or departs from moderation.
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In the same vein are soldiers on expedition, who declaim verses that spur one another on to fight.
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Also related is the poetry recited by duelists who boast of their valor when the swords are about to cross.
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Comparable, too, are the chants of the camel-drivers on the road to Mecca, such as their saying:
bashshir-hā dalīluhā wa qāla
ghadā tarayna al-talḥa wa ʾl-jibālā“Her guide has brought her good news and said:
Tomorrow you will see the acacias and the mountains.”These lines quicken both the camels and their riders, yet the stirring they cause never reaches the excessive ecstasy that breaks the bounds of propriety.
Authentic: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ had a camel-driver named Anjasha. When the camels began to move at a swift pace, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Easy, Anjasha! Drive gently with the glass vessels.”¹ ²
Authentic: In the ḥadith of Salamah ibn al-Akwaʿ he said, “We set out with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ toward Khaybar, travelling by night, when a man from the people said—”