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Prohibition of musical instruments in the Quran

Question

I asked one Imam that are dancing and music are haram? .. He said yes.. Further i asked that i have heard that Strings Instruments and Drums are haram is Islam and are mentioned in Quran.. And he said yes and quote one Surah in the Quran. I forgot the name of that surah but is it true, that it is mentioned in Quran.
I have a habit of spreading the knowledge of Islam i have. The problems comes when i end up in a position where i cant understand why that Imam said it and if he did.. Why its not true....
Thirdly, I have heard that you cant eat in a same bowl as a Non Muslim.. Means you have to divide the food in between and then eat your and they eats theirs. You can drink from a same bottle.. Just wanna know is this true.
Thank you

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

There is no clear text in the Quran about the prohibition of musical instruments, however, there are some verses about which the interpreters of the Quran stated that they are evidence about their prohibition, among which is the Saying of Allaah (which means): {And of the people is he who buys the amusement of speech to mislead [others] from the way of Allaah without knowledge and who takes it [i.e. His way] in ridicule. Those will have a humiliating punishment.}[Quran 31:6] The expression ‘the amusement of speech’ in the verse was interpreted to mean musical instruments and singing. Also, the Saying of Allaah [addressing Iblees] (which means): {And incite [to senselessness] whoever you can among them with your voice}[Quran 17:64], was interpreted to mean singing and musical instruments.

Indeed, we have already issued Fataawa 81545 and 81239 clarifying that musical instruments are forbidden, so please refer to them.

As regards the ruling on dancing, if it is men dancing with non-Mahram women, or a woman dancing in a way that non-Mahram men can see her, then there is no doubt that this is forbidden for a Muslim. With regard to a woman dancing for her husband in a way that no one can see her, or a woman dancing in front of women in a way that men cannot see her, or men dancing without behaving like women, then this is permissible as long as this is not accompanied by a forbidden matter, like consuming intoxicants and music; for more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 81604.

As for the impermissibility of a Muslim eating with a non-Muslim in the same utensil, then this is not correct; rather, it is permissible to eat and drink with a non-Muslim even in one utensil provided that the food is lawful and provided that it is not linked to forbidden matters.

For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 84761.

Allaah Knows best.

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