As for “listening” that involves practices condemned by religion, anyone who regards it as an act of devotion must be called upon to repent; if he repents, well and good; otherwise, he is to be put to death. If, however, he is acting ignorantly on a mistaken interpretation, the error of his interpretation must be explained to him, and he must be given the knowledge that dispels his ignorance. This concerns treating it as a path to Allah.

As for whether it is forbidden for someone who engages in it for amusement and entertainment, rather than as an act of devotion to Allah, this requires further distinction. Listening that involves flutes and jingling frame drums is forbidden according to the four imams. Abū ʿAmr ibn al-Salāh stated that there is no disagreement about this within the school of al-Shāfiʿī. The disagreement reported concerns only the reed pipe played on its own. Yet neither the Iraqi adherents of al-Shāfiʿī nor the earlier Khurāsānī scholars mentioned any disagreement concerning even that; it was mentioned only by the later Khurāsānī scholars.

It is established in Sahīh al-Bukhārī and elsewhere that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, spoke in condemnation of those who deem illicit sexual relations, silk, wine, and musical instruments lawful, and stated that Allah would punish them. This hadith therefore indicates that musical instruments are forbidden. According to the lexicographers, the term for musical instruments encompasses instruments of entertainment, and thus includes all these instruments.

For this reason, the jurists stated that whoever destroys them is not liable for compensation, provided that he removes what is damaged