whistling and clapping.” Ibn ‘Abbās, Ibn ‘Umar—may Allah be pleased with them—and others among the early generations explained that “tasdiya” means clapping the hands, while “mukā’” is a sound like whistling. The polytheists adopted this as worship. By contrast, the worship of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and his Companions consisted of what Allah commanded: prayer, recitation, remembrance, and the like, along with gatherings sanctioned by Islam. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and his Companions never gathered to listen to singing, whether accompanied by handclapping, a tambourine, or ecstatic displays; nor did his cloak fall off. Rather, all such accounts are lies, by the consensus of those versed in his hadith.

When the Prophet’s Companions gathered, they would ask one of their number to recite while the rest listened. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb, may Allah be pleased with him, would say to Abū Mūsā al-Ash‘arī, “Remind us of our Lord.” He would then recite while they listened.

“The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, passed by Abū Mūsā al-Ash‘arī while he was reciting and said to him, ‘I passed by you last night while you were reciting, and I began listening to your recitation.’ He replied, ‘Had I known you were listening, I would have made it truly beautiful for you.’” That is, he would have greatly beautified his recitation for him. As the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“Beautify the Quran with your voices.”

He also said, peace and blessings be upon him:

“Allah is certainly more attentive in hearing—that is, listening—to a man with a beautiful voice reciting the Quran than the owner of a singing-girl is to her.”

“The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to Ibn Mas‘ūd, ‘Recite the Quran to me.’ He replied, ‘Should I recite it to you when it was revealed to you?’ He said, ‘I like to hear it from someone else.’ So I recited Sūrat al-Nisā’ to him until I reached