Is Guitar Haram in Islam?

Before we begin, we want to clarify that we are not trying to judge anyone’s religious beliefs. Instead, this will be a neutral and open-ended look at a topic that has been the subject of many discussions recently. Therefore, we will look at it from both sides of the coin and answer whether guitar haram is as objectively as possible.

Table of Contents

What Is “Haram”?

The word Haram is Arabic in origin and forms one-half of the Halal-Haram classification that forms an important part of Islamic doctrine. Halal refers to those things that are permissible or allowed by the Quran, the holy book of Muslims, and the Hadith which we will look at in detail shortly. Haram refers to those things that are prohibited or sinful in Islam. To put it simply, things are classified into two according to the principles of Islam. One side represents everything you can do, while the other group represents everything that is a sin and should be avoided.

Where Does This Misconception Arise From?

This whole concept of Halal and Haram seems quite straightforward, and in theory, it is. However, in practice, things aren’t very clear-cut. There is a very simple reason for that. There is no way for everything on earth to be classified into these two groups. This is especially true for the modern guitar which hadn’t yet come into existence when the Quran and the Hadith came into existence.

As such, going through the Quran, you will come across some things that are classified in a manner that leaves no room for interpretation. These include things like the food items that are forbidden or the proper manner of slaughtering an animal. However, the problem arises when the Quran isn’t as descriptive, and there is plenty of room for interpretation. The guitar falls into this grey area, and in many ways, it is how certain parts of the Quran and Hadith are interpreted that decides whether the guitar is indeed Haram or not.

This is where the many subgroups of practitioners of Islam come in. With each of these sub-groups, you will get different interpretations of these grey areas in the Quran and the Hadith including the one that covers the permissibility of the guitar. While all musical instruments have had this debate over whether they were allowed or not, the guitar specifically came into focus because of two reasons. It has been the most popular mainstream instrument for a few decades now. Second, a lot of the most popular songs associated with the guitar fly directly in the face of many of the fundamental doctrines of Islam.

This debate gained even more traction and started getting a lot of attention when Islamic scholars like Zakir Naik and Abdul Raof Nurin argued that playing the guitar, among other popular western instruments such as the piano is in violation of the Hadith or the teachings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It is the Hadith that gives rise to many of the points of contentions found in Islam.

Unlike the Quran itself, the Hadith is the compilation of the purported teachings of Muhammad that have been passed down by narrators, which have then been compiled into the Hadith. These teachings cover those things that aren’t explicitly mentioned in the Quran. There is some variance in these compilations, though, and different sects of Islam have different versions of the Hadith, and some of these may suggest that the guitar is Haram.

There are parts of certain versions of the Hadith that state that any music that isn’t praising Allah is Haram. Since almost all of the guitar music in the world doesn’t have this objective, people who follow these versions of the Hadith classify the guitar as Haram.

Why Is The Guitar Not Haram?

The Quran itself does not talk about music. In fact, if you were to go specifically by the teachings of the Quran, then the guitar and music, in general, are not Haram as long as it does not lead someone away from Allah. So, as long as the music isn’t in violation of any of the fundamental doctrines mentioned in the Quran, you are not only free to listen to it but also learn it on the guitar.

The guitar on its own cannot be Haram as the music theory associated with the guitar has no correlation with any religion or spiritual belief, including those of Islam. Music theory can be thought of as a very creative version of mathematical principles governing different tones and sounds. Simply learning the guitar is, therefore, not Haram, as it does not violate the fundamental teachings of this religion.

What Is Haram When It Comes To The Guitar?

There are some things, though, that can be against the teachings of Islam that can make the guitar haram. The first is the use of anything obtained from a pig. There is only one scenario where this can happen, and that is when the guitar’s nut is made out of bone obtained from a pig. This is extremely rare as most modern guitars use a nut made from synthetic materials. Even if a real animal bone is used, it is almost certainly obtained from an animal that comes under the halal umbrella.

Then there is the music itself. If the music refers to or glorifies anything that would be blasphemous and strictly against the fundamental beliefs of Islam, that would make the guitar haram. This includes songs about polytheism, songs glorifying unnatural acts, taking the name of Allah in a disrespectful manner, mocking the prophet Muhammed and so on.

How To Ensure That Your Guitar-playing Isn’t Haram?

There are a few steps you can follow to ensure that your guitar playing does not become Haram.

Make sure that the guitar does not use any haram materials in its construction.
When learning any new song, go through the lyrics first to ensure that there is nothing that violates the fundamental doctrines of Islam.
Avoid glorifying or making references to haram activities when composing your own stuff.
Be respectful of the call for prayer and the holy fast when playing the guitar.

Can Muslims Listen To Guitar Music?

They most certainly can as long as the lyrics of the song do not explicitly break or glorify the breaking of any of the fundamental laws that every practicing Muslim is supposed to adhere to. There is, of course, the grey area introduced by the Hadith, and this is something that you have to figure out on your own as there is a huge variance in the belief system among Muslims. The level of freedom you have will totally depend on the version of the Hadith you and any of your potential audience follow.