Music in Islam + Acapella

Before I proceed, I'd like to remind fellow readers that I'm not in any way influencing you. Rather, this is just to share what I have recently found through readings and videos on the internet. It all started way back in school, when a few of us were discussing about music, and that someone has discovered a video by Mufti Menk regarding the origin of music.

In the video, he elaborates precisely on how the music we know today came about. I know, there has been tremendous arguments on this matter, some saying that music is acceptable as long as it does not make one negligent (melalaikan), while others ban it completely. But I'm not here for any sort of debate. Again, just sharing my findings. So next, I googled "music in Islam" and stumbled upon Music and Singing: A Detailed Fatwa - Qibla Answers.

It's a pretty long and precise explanation, but I found a few conclusions based on it

1. There is one strong Hadith:

 Sayyiduna Abu Malik al-Ash’ari (Allah be pleased with him) reports that he heard the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) say: “There will appear people in my Ummah, who will hold adultery, silk, alcohol and musical instruments to be lawful” (Sahih al-Bukhari)

2.  Daff (tambourine) is a halal instrument

3. Singing is halal as long as it does not deliver any negative message and is not accompanied by any musical instruments (except for daff). Although women singing in the presence of non-mahram men is still haram

Of course, there is always more resources on the internet from different points of view. By now I'm quite certain that you have ambivalent feelings. No worries. Here's something to cheer you up

That picture didn't help, huh? OK, back to the issue. Now for the second part of this blog post (if you notice it in the title above) which is Acapella.

I remember that each time I search for Maher Zain's songs on YouTube, it always comes along with a "vocals only" version. So I figured, other songs must have it's own "vocals only" version. I thought of a song that I wanted to listen to so badly, and I typed "Story of my life vocal" in the search field. I was in luck! One Direction - Story Of My Life (Acapella - Vocals Only) appeared.

With that, I not only discovered that there are some songs which they extracted the vocals only, but also unearthed the fact that the "vocals only" version is called the Acapella. According to a source on the web, Acapella is defined as "Without instrumental accompaniment" I went on and searched for some more acapella songs. I listened and listened and listened, and this is how I reacted:

Yup. Certainly if the singer has excellent vocals, the absence of musical instruments won't affect the overall performance much. Looking forward to find more acapella songs. Teehee ^^

Before I put an end to this post, a friendly reminder that I'm not trying to manipulate your beliefs. I respect that for I doubt that I have any more knowledge as much as the next guy (macam salah ja ayat nie. abaikan). I'm open to any comments of critics or the like if you have some.

Seek guidance from Allah, for it is He who knows best. Wallahua'lam