and instill fear of what is dreaded and sorrow over missing what is sought. Through it, mercy is brought down, blessings are drawn forth, the spiritual emotions of the faithful are stirred, and the contemplative experiences of those endowed with spiritual knowledge are brought into clearer view. Some even say that, for certain people—or for the spiritual elite—it is superior to listening to the Quran in several respects. They even make it sustenance for hearts, nourishment for spirits, and a guide for souls, urging them onward in their journey to Allah and encouraging them to turn to Him.

Thus, one finds that those who have become accustomed to it and nourished themselves on it neither yearn for the Quran nor rejoice in it. They do not experience, when listening to verses of revelation, what they experience when listening to verses of poetry. Rather, when they hear the Quran, they hear it with heedless hearts and tongues engaged in idle talk. Yet when they listen to whistling and clapping, their voices grow hushed, their movements become still, and their hearts listen intently and partake of the drink.

Anyone who discusses this by asking, “Is it disliked or permissible?” and likens it to the songs women used to sing at festivals and celebrations has not grasped the distinction between the paths of those who suffer loss and those who attain success. And anyone who discusses this by asking, “Is it part of religion? Is it among the forms of listening practised by the God-fearing, the spiritual states of those brought near to Allah and those who follow a moderate course, the deeds of those possessed of certainty, the path of those who love Allah and are loved by Him, or the practices of those journeying to the Lord of all worlds?” speaks at a far remove from the issue. He is like someone who is asked about the disputed discipline of speculative theology—“Is it praiseworthy or blameworthy?”—and begins to