—is in need of some clarification, so I say:

First: The Prophet’s wording yastahillūna (“they will deem lawful”) plainly shows that the four items listed—including musical instruments—are not lawful according to the Sacred Law. The lexicons, among them al-Muʿjam al-Wasīṭ, define the verb as: “istahalla al-shayʾa—he considered a thing lawful.”

For this reason the eminent scholar ʿAlī al-Qārī said in al-Mirqāt 5/106:

“The meaning is that they will regard these things as lawful by adducing specious arguments and feeble proofs. One example is what some of our jurists—meaning the Ḥanafīs—have claimed: that silk is prohibited only when it clings directly to the body, whereas if it is worn over other clothes there is no harm in it. This is a restriction unsupported by either textual or rational evidence, contradicting the Prophet’s ﷺ unrestricted statement: ‘Whoever wears silk in this world shall not wear it in the Hereafter.’ 1 Likewise, certain scholars have advanced various contentions regarding musical instruments; detailing them would take too long. This hadith is further reinforced by the Almighty’s words: ‘Among mankind are those who purchase idle talk so as to mislead others from Allah’s path, without knowledge.’”

I add: Comparable to the Ḥanafī view just cited is their distinction between wine made from grapes—which is forbidden in both small and large amounts—and wine made from dates or other sources, which they consider unlawful only in the large, intoxicating quantity. This is a reprehensible kind of superficial literalism. The same holds for differentiating between music that arouses sexual desire—declaring it forbidden—while permitting other kinds of music, as was already discussed in the Introduction in reply to Abū Zahrah.