What is the ruling on listening to songs about love or betrayal, without music and without immoral phrases?
The prohibition of singing accompanied by musical instruments has been established. As for singing devoid of music (chanted poetry), its permissibility is subject to the following conditions:
1. It must not be from a woman to a non-mahram man, based on Allah's saying: (Then do not be soft in speech [to men], lest he in whose heart is disease should covet, but speak with appropriate speech.)
2. It must not be set to tunes characteristic of immoral people, based on the hadith: (Whoever imitates a people is one of them.)
3. The lyrics must be permissible, based on the Prophet's (PBUH) saying: (Poetry is speech; its good is good, and its bad is bad.) Thus, anything that arouses instincts or is obscene is not permissible.
4. One should not excessively engage in singing, because excessive singing expels the love of the Qur'an from the heart.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/191103