The‘gong or kompang’are used in the Malay traditional ceremonial or folk music for certain events, which sounded (to me) very simple, kampong-like songs. By the way, there was a National Orchestra in Malaysia in the 1990s. (Lily)
Jihad Watch(http://www.jihadwatch.org)
Malaysia: Islamic scholars say playing guitar and piano against Islamic law, 11 December 2014
by Robert Spencer
This is why Cat Stevens gave up music when he became Yusuf Islam, although his return to music suggests that these prohibitions can be set aside for purposes of dawah. In any case, this prohibition is not limited to Malaysian Islamic scholars, as it is founded on the hadiths below. It is consistent with the general denial of life, creativity, beauty and artistic endeavor that we see in many other areas with Sharia.
Hadith Qudsi 19:5: “The Prophet said that Allah commanded him to destroy all the musical instruments, idols, crosses and all the trappings of ignorance.” (The Hadith Qudsi, or holy Hadith, are those in which Muhammad transmits the words of Allah, although those words are not in the Qur’an.)
Muhammad also said:
(1) “Allah Mighty and Majestic sent me as a guidance and mercy to believers and commanded me to do away with musical instruments, flutes, strings, crucifixes, and the affair of the pre-Islamic period of ignorance.”
(2) “On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will pour molten lead into the ears of whoever sits listening to a songstress.”
(3) “Song makes hypocrisy grow in the heart as water does herbage.”
(4) “This community will experience the swallowing up of some people by the earth, metamorphosis of some into animals, and being rained upon with stones.” Someone asked, “When will this be, O Messenger of Allah?” and he said, “When songstresses and musical instruments appear and wine is held to be lawful.”
(5) “There will be peoples of my Community who will hold fornication, silk, wine, and musical instruments to be lawful ….” — ‘Umdat al-Salik r40.0
“Religious scholars say ‘haram’ for Muslims to wear football kits, play guitar, piano, trumpet,” Malaysia Today, December 6, 2014 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
(Malay Mail Online) – Islam allegedly forbids Muslims from playing musical instruments like guitar, piano or trumpets as they go against the hadiths, a religious scholar said today.
In his paper on Islam and entertainment presented at a national forum here, Abdul Raof Nurin said the Shafie stream of Islam only allows Muslims to listen to music that touches on love for the religion, and urged those who want to play musical instruments to preferably stick to the gong or kompang.
He added that the Shafie school, however, will make an exception for the “gabus”, a stringed instrument similar to the guitar, only if they are played according to Islamic laws.
“To listen to music that has nothing to do with religion that includes instruments that is prohibited in Islam, coupled with concerts that allow mixed socialisation, this distracts you from praying.
“Majority of ulama forbid the use of musical instruments except for those drummed like the kompang, percussions even those with bells,” he said.
The forum was organised by the Malaysian Muslim Consumer Group (PPIM) and the Human Development and Investigation Bureau.
Professor at the National Art and Heritage Academy (Aswara) Datuk Baharudin Ahmad, however, said the instruments alone are not “haram” or forbidden, but the sounds they make are, since they are often used to play music that encourages immoral activities like free mingling of the genders.
“Instruments like the trumpet, the trumpet is not a problem, the sound that comes out of it [is],” Baharudin told the forum….
(End)
