and whoever has echoed him (pp. 6–8). Even with all the constraints of personal opinion and the suspension of revealed texts contained in that view, an even worse statement is Shaykh al-Ghazālī’s, made after the hadith of musical instruments recorded by al-Bukhārī (69–70):
“Perhaps al-Bukhārī meant the entire scene—that is, the gathering that brings together wine, singing, and licentious behavior.”
I say to the Shaykh: leave that “perhaps” up there with that planet¹, for this explanation and choice of wording is foreign, even though its author is an Arab and a distinguished writer. How can he mix up the Prophet’s ﷺ words with al-Bukhārī’s and then ascribe the Prophet’s words to al-Bukhārī? This is astonishing indeed, as is perfectly clear; I cannot tell whether it is a mental lapse or merely a slip of the pen, and either option is bitter.
First point.
Second: that explanation is contradicted by the explicit reports that follow the hadith of musical instruments, which pronounce various kinds of instruments unlawful. In the sixth hadith and the testimonies that accompany it, it is plainly stated that adopting instruments and female singers is among the causes of transformation, subsidence, and pelting. One of these is the authentic hadith of Rabīʿah al-Jurashī, in which they asked about the cause:
They said, “For what reason, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied, “For their adopting female singers and drinking wine.”
Likewise, in the hadith of ʿImrān: