Islam, as one of the most progressive divine religions, has such a strong and structured structure that it is recognized as independent and complete by the elites and elders of sciences such as anthropology, theology, sociology and other manifestations of modern human culture.
A civilization that has been endorsed by even the world’s greatest philosophers, and exclusively by Western philosophers. As Hegel refers to Islamic culture as Islamic civilization, he believes that Islamic culture, along with civilizations such as Iran, Egypt, China, Rome, and Greece, has been the bride of world civilization at some point in history, and that it has entrusted this position to the West and its civilization. Is retired. According to Hegel, it is now the Western civilization that has the proud status of the “bride of world civilizations” and other civilizations are inevitably considered old and worn out! Needless to say, following Hegel, another group of Western philosophers, and even some Eastern philosophers and, unfortunately, even Muslims, have endorsed Hegel’s belief in the legitimacy and supremacy of Western civilization.
This belief is undoubtedly invalid. But since discussing it requires another independent opportunity, we inevitably skip it and discuss only the subject of this article. But in short, it can be said that one can believe in pluralism in all cases, and in every field of human knowledge and heritage, believe in pluralism and respect different tastes and beliefs, but only in the context of civilization. Rejected and, contrary to the orthodoxy of pluralism, in this particular case, exceptionally recognized Western civilization exclusively ?! As anthropological and sociological research confirms, every nation has a culture to which it belongs alone, and on the other hand, the number of nations is very large. Thus, just as the human race is diverse, so the region must be heavier in favor of these diverse civilizations; But apparently, in this context, there is not much Baha’i area.
In any case, Islamic civilization attaches great importance to music. From this point of view, the attitude of Islam towards music can be evaluated as the attitude of other civilizations. But there is a major difference between the two, which unequivocally proves the cultural superiority of Islam in this regard.
Other civilizations have spoken only about the need to value music and to defend good, thoughtful music. While Islam, in addition to attaching importance to this art, at the same time invites everyone to welcome good and valuable music and urges Muslims never to give in to worthless and vulgar music. Therefore, Islam has basically forbidden listening to vulgar music, so that no other Muslim can even casually turn a blind eye to this kind of music that Islam has identified as fun and playful. This compulsory prohibition belongs exclusively to Islamic culture and proves that a Muslim has no choice but to take a step towards evolution. While other cultures may not like worthless music, they have no obligation to avoid it. The followers of these cultures are free to choose whether they are good or bad, but Islam leaves Muslims free only to achieve perfection and excellence! The way to be bad is blocked in any field, including music, in Islamic culture.
Now, if we want to determine and examine the true place of music in the Islamic world, we must necessarily base it on all the well-known subsets in Islamic culture. And do research on its structures. The first true division that overshadows other details and distinctions is the dual division of Shari’a and Tariqah. Needless to say, Shari’a and Tariqah are not separate from each other and only emerge continuously and collectively. But it is clear that each has its own characteristics that are recognized separately from the other.
What generally prevails in the belief of the Islamic community is that the Islamic way very clearly values music and considers it as an important element of the heads of the way. In this popular belief, it is considered that Islamic law does not attach much importance to music, and even strongly rejects it. This notion probably stems from the fact that the fallacy regarding the prohibition of music is common among all the elders of the Shari’a and the fatwa. While apparently the mystics and the great mystics have no famous and obvious words in rejecting music. And they have even tried in some way to approve and disseminate it. This idea, of course, is quite true. But the realistic section of Islamic society knows that the opposite has also been mentioned. That is to say, the people of Shari’ah have confirmed the importance and value of music, and the people of Tarighat have expressed explicit opinions and sayings in rejecting and condemning it.
If the place of music in the way and the Shari’a is determined, it is clear that in the first place its place will be known throughout the Islamic world. Because Islamic culture is nothing but a collection of Islamic way and law.
For the sake of greater fame, which relates only to appearances and in principle makes no difference, the Islamic method is given priority in this regard. However, the great views of the Tariqah, in condemning and condemning the music, will also be mentioned in due course and in due time.
One of the uses of music in the way is dedicated to a ceremony called hearing. Much has been said about hearing and its conditions, etiquette and customs in detail and saturation in ancient mystical texts. It is possible to compile a collection of chapters related to hearing in these texts together and publish them in an independent book (such as the book of hearing in Sufism written by Dr. Ismail Hakemi, published by the Publishing Institute and the University of Tehran, 1980).
It is certain that the mystics mean by hearing the same topic of music, which in Arabic is called “Ghana” and in Persian it is called music. Therefore, any special function and utility that the people of the path receive from the subject of hearing is, in fact, a function that encompasses music.
Everyone knows that in order to achieve evolution, conditions are necessary, that in order to achieve them, one must strive, walk, and endure hardships. A quatrain by Sheikh Farid al-Din Attar of Neyshabur, which gives the biographies of many mystics in the book Tazkerat ol-Awliya and also includes other occult and mystical contributions in his other books, is a statement of many facts in this regard.
If the man is released, the middle of the blood must be gone, he must be overthrown, he must be overthrown
At the base of the road in the ninth and none of your questions, the way to tell you why you should go
Why does Attar say “the middle of the blood must go”? Why does he insist that “if he has fallen, he must be overthrown”? And why does it stipulate that if you are a “free man” you can walk this path? The answer is clear: he wants to show that not everyone has the ability to walk this exhausting path. And only those who are Mujahideen have this ability. Because this is a very tedious way and far from the reach of “nice and cute people”, it is necessary to provide a means to help the traveler to be able to endure this difficulty, because, as Hafiz said:
The people who are cute and cute are not on the right path / The way should be, globalization, non-violence, misery
Or as he said:
An immature person does not reach the position of nearness to God
The love of the style of the lovers has suffered
One of these aids is music. Because music, contrary to its reputation as a pastime, and from this point of view is known in the category of instruments of immorality, can help its listener in the path of mystical evolution, and lead him to transcendence.
The description of this process, of course, requires a thorough and extensive discussion. But what can be said briefly is that music, provided it is not vulgar, can be a substitute for the seeker’s “inner dialogue” and focus on him. We know that one of the scourges of personal development is the continuous and irreversible process of internal debate. Because it causes that person; When he is alone, he talks to himself and weaves the sky and the string for everyone.
This debate confuses the mind and prevents the seeker from attaining the focus and meditation that is the foundation of any spiritual and mystical system. Turning to music temporarily disrupts and disrupts this ongoing dialogue. In this case, the listener inevitably focuses on the music and the only thing he does is listen to it. One can repeatedly, as a listener, turn to good and valuable music and strengthen one’s concentration.
* Sources and references are available in the editorial office of Artmag.
