Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
Music in itself is not considered haram. Islam forbids music that contains immoral messages or is accompanied by illegal mixing or something that is prohibited or distracts a person from performing religious obligations.
In his response to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states:
Music can never be condemned unconditionally; exceptions must be made. Music is permissible as long it meets the following requirements:
1- Its theme and message is completely pure, ethical and free from lewdness;
2- It does not become addictive so as to be distracting from dhikrof Allah and recitation of Qur’an;
3- It does not interfere with one’s obligatory religious duties;
4- It is not associated with other evils such as drinking alcohol and mingling of men and women.
If such requirements are met, and a person is using music as a halal way of entertainment during weddings or similar occasions, then it cannot considered as haram, since every human being has an innate aesthetic sense or instinct.
As Islam is a natural religion, it cannot completely disapprove of it as long as it is fulfilled in a legitimate manner.
Therefore, do not object to playing music at weddings as long its message is ethical and Islamic and as long it does not interfere with Prayer and other acts of worship.
Almighty Allah knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.