Is listening to music and songs that contain words of flirtation (ghazal) forbidden, and why, even if the flirtation is directed at one's wife?

Listening to music is Haram (forbidden) based on authentic evidence. There is no difference between listening to it with or without watching a video, unless the video displays something impermissible to look at, in which case there is an additional sin. As for singing, if it is free from forbidden elements, there is no harm if it contains innocent, non-obscene flirtation. The reasons for prohibiting music and songs include: that they are a means to fornication by inciting lust, that they distract from the remembrance of Allah, and that they cultivate hypocrisy in the heart. A believer must avoid what is forbidden, whether they know the reason for its prohibition or not, with certainty that the Sharia only prohibits that which contains pure or predominant harm.