As for what a person hears without intending to listen, neither prohibition nor blame attaches to it, by agreement of the imams. Thus, blame and praise attach to deliberate listening, not mere hearing. Someone who listens attentively to the Quran is rewarded for it, whereas someone who hears it without intention or deliberate choice is not rewarded for that, since deeds are judged by intentions.

Likewise, if someone unintentionally hears forms of entertainment that one is forbidden to listen to, this does not harm him. If he hears a line of poetry that accords with some aspect of his state, stirring something praiseworthy that lay dormant within him and rousing something beloved that had been still—or if he quotes such a line or does something similar—this is not prohibited. What is good and praiseworthy is his heart’s movement, which Allah and His Messenger love, towards love of Allah: a love that entails doing what Allah loves and refraining from what He hates.

An example is someone who passed by a house and heard a person saying:

“Every day you change your ways;
something else would better become you.”

He drew from this an allusion relevant to his own state, for such allusions fall within the realm of analogy, reflection, and illustrative comparisons. The question of “listening” is extensive and wide-ranging, and we have discussed it elsewhere.

The point here is that the goals sought by spiritual seekers can be attained through listening that accords with faith, the Quran, the Prophetic way, religion, and revealed law—the listening of the prophets, the learned, those who know Allah, and the believers.

Allah Most High says:

“Those are the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed His favour