that Mu‘ādh said to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, “Had I known that you were listening, I would have made my recitation more beautiful for you.”

I say: These were the words of Abū Mūsā, not Mu‘ādh. These reports indicate that beautifying one’s voice when reciting the Quran is recommended, and this is undisputed. To use them as evidence for beautifying the voice through singing is more unsound than drawing an analogy between usury and trade, for it amounts to placing poetry on a par with the Quran.

Allah Most High says:

“We have not taught him poetry, nor is it fitting for him. This is nothing but a reminder and a clear Quran.”
[Surah Yā Sīn 69]

Allah Most High also says:

“It was not the devils who brought it down. It is neither fitting for them, nor are they able to do so. Indeed, they are barred from hearing.”
[Surah al-Shu‘arā’ 210 212]

“Do you not see that they wander in every valley, and that they say what they do not do?”
[Surah al-Shu‘arā’ 225226]

Allah Most High says:

“It is not the word of a poet—how little you believe! Nor is it the word of a soothsayer—how little you reflect!”
[Surah al-Hāqqah 4142]

This analogy is like comparing listening to whistling and clapping—which Allah condemns in His Book and describes as the prayer of the polytheists—to listening to the Quran, which Allah commands in His Book and describes as the listening of the prophets and believers. It also likens those who lead the prayer, such as the Rightly Guided Caliphs and the other imams of the believers, to effeminate singers, who may be called al-jadd or chanters