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Is it permissible to listen to "al-Shallat" that are sold in markets, which may resemble forbidden songs and contain indecent language describing a woman's physical attributes, knowing that they may not contain music or contain non-melodious music, and are recited by male and female singers, and are sold in music markets?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Listening to romantic poetry that describes women's beauty without obscenity is permissible. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, listened to Ka'b ibn Zuhayr's poem which described a woman, and Ibn Abbas also did so. However, the following conditions apply: It must not include music. The romantic description must not be of a specific woman, as this can lead to men becoming infatuated and violating honor, unless it is from a man to his wife or concubine. It must not incite indecency and vice.

A Muslim should utilize their time in what is beneficial, such as reading stories of the prophets and biographies of the righteous predecessors, or engaging in sports that strengthen their body, rather than occupying themselves with listening that might lead to hearing something forbidden.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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