Okay so now we know Music is wrong and against the teachings
of many scholars but what to do now once someone has acknowledged that? How
does someone stop something they have been doing for so long?
Often when it comes to stopping something for the sake of
Allaah, the troubles or problems faced are due to their love or attachment to
that thing or simply an error in their relationship with Allah (S.W.T.).
I’m going to give you 3 very important pieces of advice, in
which helped a sister personally when it came to fighting against her nafs to
resist such things.
First:
Work on your relationship with Allaah. You need to get to
know Allaah (S.W.T.) in order to bring yourself closer to Him, and the reality
is many of us don’t know Him. These are three actions that, if carried out
sincerely, will bring you closer to Allaah ( S.W.T.) and strengthen your
relationship with Him:
1. Learn His 99 names, their definitions and genuinely
reflect on them and try using them in duas for specific things (ie: when asking
for Allaah to have mercy on you, using the name “Ar-Rahman” the all merciful).
2. Use the divine revelation from Allaah to bring you closer
to Him. Read the Quran, learn the meaning, and try your best to make it a daily
habit to read it or at least listen to it and reflect as well as aim to
implement as much as you read in your life.
3. Your salaaah needs to be intact in order for your
relationship with Allah to be as strong as it can. As Umar bin Al Khattab truthfully
said: “Hold on to your salaah, because if you lose that, you will lose
everything else”. So long as your salaah is being performed in its correct
times and you are focusing to the extent that you feel a real connection with
Allaah (S.W.T.) you will automatically be bought nearer to Him.
Once you have worked with your relationship with Allaah (S.W.T.)),
trials such as music become much easier to avoid for His sake, because you
begin to love Allaah (S.W.T.)) so much so that you are willing to give up
anything to please Him. No matter how beloved that thing may be to you.
Second Tip:
Fear Allah. A lot of the time I’ve heard people ask this
question with regards to music and the over and over again the reply is “Take
it step by step” or something along those lines but in my opinion I don’t agree
with that at all.
We’re supposed to live our lives as though we won’t live to
see the next day… as RasulAllaah (S.A.W.) advised us: “Lower your expectation
such that when you wake up in the morning, you say ‘I will not see the night’
and when you go to sleep at night you say ‘I will not see the morning.’ And be
prepared to depart from this life and yearn to meet Allaah.” [Bihar Al Anwar,
v.77, p.101, no.1]
Therefore, when you consider stopping listening to music try
it all at once. Now I know what you’re thinking, it sounds impossible to wake
up one day and just stop, but Allaah (S.W.T.) is the only one who can make the
impossible, possible for you. Try the impossible and make dua to Allaah and
believe in yourself and ultimately trust in Him that you can do it with His
help. Deleting all your music off your phone/mp3 etcetera and replacing it with
Quran will be the first step and then will come fighting your nafs.
Now don’t get me wrong it won’t at all be easy, but you need
to push yourself and realise that your struggle for the sake of Allaah (S.W.T.))
will always bring you great reward.
Thirdly:
Surround yourself with good friends. If your friends do
listen to music why don’t you try stopping together or making a pact with each
other about it and that way you’ll encourage each other. If things don’t work
out try hanging out more with better friends. Your friends define you and so in
order for you to change it’s really important that they change too or you
distance yourself in order to change to new friends.
Finally,
Make dua and realise that this is your ultimate weapon and
tool to over-coming your desires and giving music up. Allaah (S.W.T.)) is the
one who can truly help you and make this easy for you so call upon Him and ask
Him. He’s waiting for you to return to Him. And remember this: “…If the whole
nation were to gather together to benefit you they would only benefit you with
that which Allaah had already written for you and if the whole nation were to
gather to harm you they could only harm you with that which Allaah had already
written to harm you. The pen has been lifted and the ink has dried (a phrase
meaning: everything has been decreed or settled)”. [At-Tirmithi]
I pray that all those trying to overcome this, are given
enough strength by Allaah (S.W.T.) to do so and that it allows you to all
overcome your desires and ultimately become great assets to this Ummah,
Ameen.