CHAPTER V
CONCERNING MUSIC AND DANCING
AS AIDS TO THE RELIGIOUS LIFE
The heart of man has been so constituted by the
Almighty that, like a flint, it contains a hidden fire which is evoked
by music and harmony, and renders man beside himself with ecstasy. These
harmonies are echoes of that higher world of beauty which we call the world
of spirits; they remind man of his relationship to that world, and produce
in him an emotion so deep and strange that he himself is powerless to explain
it. The effect of music and dancing is deeper in proportion as the natures
on which they act are simple and prone to motion; they fan into a flame
whatever love is already dormant in the heart, whether It be earthly and
sensual, or divine and spiritual.
Accordingly there has been much dispute among
theologians as to the lawfulness of music and dancing regarded as religious
exercises. One sect, the Zahirites, [1] holding that God
is altogether incommensurable with man, deny the possibility of man's really
feeling love to God, and say that he can only love those of his own species.
If he does feel what he thinks is love to his Creator they say it is a
mere projection, or shadow cast by his own fantasy, or a reflection of
love to the creature; music and dancing, according to them, have only to
do with creature love, and are therefore unlawful as religious exercises.
If we ask them what is the meaning of that "love to God" which is enjoined
by the religious law, they reply that it means obedience and worship. This
is an error which we hope to confute in a later chapter dealing with the
love of God. At present we content ourselves with saying that music and
dancing do not put into the heart what is not there already, but only fan
into a flame dormant emotions. Therefore if a man has in his heart that
love to God which the law enjoins, it is perfectly lawful, nay, laudable
in him to take part in exercises which promote it. On the other hand, if
his heart is full of sensual desires, music and dancing will only increase
them, and are therefore unlawful for him. While, if he listens to them
merely as a matter of amusement, they are neither lawful nor unlawful,
but indifferent. For the mere fact that they are pleasant does not make
them unlawful any more than the pleasure of listening to the singing of
birds or looking at green grass and running water is unlawful. The innocent
character of music and dancing, regarded merely as a pastime, is also corroborated
by an authentic tradition which we have from the Lady Ayesha, [2]
who narrates: "One festival day some Negroes were performing in a mosque.
The Prophet said to me, 'Do you wish to see them?' I replied, 'Yes.' Accordingly
he lifted me up with his own blessed hand, and I looked on so long that
he said more than once, 'Have not you had enough of watching?"
Another authentic tradition narrates what follows:
"One festival day two girls came to my house and began to play and sing.
The Prophet came in and lay down on the couch turning his face away. Presently
Abu Bakr [3] entered, and seeing the girls playing, exclaimed,
'What! the pipe of Satan in the Prophet's house!' Whereupon the Prophet
turned and said, 'Let them alone, Abu Bakr, for this is a festival day'."
Passing over the cases where music and dancing
rouse into a flame evil desires already dormant in the heart, we come to
those cases where they are quite lawful. Such are those of the pilgrims
who celebrate the glories of the House of God at Mecca in song, and thus
incite others to go on pilgrimage, and of minstrels whose music and songs
stir up martial ardour in the breasts of their auditors and incite them
to fight against infidels. Similarly, mournful music which excites sorrow
for sin and failure in religious life is lawful; of this nature was the
music of David. But dirges which increase sorrow for the dead are not lawful,
for it is written in the Koran, "Despair not over what you have lost."
On the other hand, joyful music at weddings and feasts and on such occasions
as a circumcision or the return from a journey is lawful.
We come now to the purely religious use of music
and dancing: such is that of who by this means stir up in themselves greater
love towards God, and, by means of music, often obtain spiritual visions
and ecstasies, their heart becoming in this condition as clean as silver
in the flame of a furnace, and attaining a degree of purity which could
never be attained by any amount of mere outward austerities. The Sufi then
becomes so keenly aware of his relationship to the spiritual world that
he loses all consciousness of this world, and often falls down senseless.
It is not, however, lawful for the aspirant to
Sufism to take part in this mystical dancing without the permission of
his "Pir," or spiritual director. It is related of the Sheikh Abu'l Qasim
Girgani that, when one of his disciples requested leave to take part in
such a dance, he said, "Keep a strict fast for three days; then let them
cook for you tempting dishes; if then, you still prefer the "dance," you
may take part in it." The disciple, however, whose heart is not thoroughly
purged from earthly desires, though he may have obtained some glimpse of
the Mystics' path, should be forbidden by his director to take part in
such dances, as they will do him more harm than good.
Those who deny the reality of the ecstasies and
other spiritual experiences of the Sufis merely betray their own narrow
mindedness and shallow insight. Some allowance, however, must be made for
them, for it is as, difficult to believe in the reality of states of which
one has no personal experience as it is for a blind man to understand the
pleasure of looking at green grass and running water, or for a child to
comprehend the pleasure of exercising sovereignty. A wise man, though he
himself may have no experience of those states, will not therefore deny
their reality, for what folly can be greater than his who denies the reality
of a thing merely because he himself has not experienced it! Of such people
it is written in the Koran, "Those who have not the guidance will say,
'This is a manifest imposture.'"
As regards the erotic poetry which is recited
in Sufi gatherings, and to which people sometimes make objection, we must
remember that, when in such poetry mention is made of separation from or
union with the beloved, the Sufi, who is an adept in the love of God, applies
such expressions to separation from or union with Him. Similarly, "dark
locks" are taken to signify the darkness of unbelief; "the brightness of
the face," the light of faith, and "drunkenness" the Sufi's ecstasy. Take,
for instance, the verse:
Thou
may'st measure out thousands of measures of wine,
But, till thou drink it, no joy is thine.
By this the writer means that the true delights
of religion cannot be reached by way of formal instruction, but by felt
attraction and desire. A man may converse much and write volumes concerning
love, faith, piety, and so forth, and blacken paper to any extent, but
till he himself possesses these attributes all this will do him no good.
Thus, those who find fault with the Sufis for being powerfully affected,
even to ecstasy, by these and similar verses, are merely shallow and uncharitable.
Even camels are sometimes so powerfully affected by the Arab songs of their
drivers that they will run rapidly, bearing heavy burdens, till they fall
down in a state of exhaustion.
The Sufi hearer, however, is in danger of blasphemy
if he applies some of the verses which he hears to God. For instance, if
he hears such a verse as "Thou art changed from thy former inclination,"
he must not apply it to God, who cannot change, but to himself and his
own variations of mood. God is like the sun, which is always shining, but
sometimes for us His light is eclipsed by some object which intervenes
between us and Him.
Regarding some adepts, it is related that they
attain to such a degree of ecstasy that they lose themselves in God. Such
was the case with Sheikh Abu'l Hassan Nuri, who, on hearing a certain verse,
fell into an ecstatic condition, and, coming into a field full of stalks
of newly cut sugar-cane, ran about till his feet were wounded and bleeding,
and not long afterwards, expired. In such cases some have supposed that
there occurs an actual descent of Deity into humanity, but this would be
as great a mistake as that of one who, having for the first time seen his
reflection in a mirror should suppose that, somehow or other, he had become
incorporated with the mirror, or that the red and white hues which the
mirror reflects were qualities inherent in it.
The states of ecstasy into which the Sufis fall
vary according to the emotions which predominate in them -- love, fear,
desire, repentance, etc. These states, as we have mentioned above, are
often the result not only of hearing verses of the Koran, but erotic poetry.
Some have objected to the reciting of poetry, as well as of the Koran,
on these occasions; but it should be remembered that all the verses of
the Koran are not adapted to stir the emotions - such, for instance, as
that which commands that a man should leave his mother the sixth part of
his property and his sister the half, or that which orders that a widow
must wait four months after the death of her husband before becoming
espoused to another man. The natures which can be thrown into religious
ecstasy by the recital of such verses are peculiarly sensitive and very
rare.
Another reason for the use of poetry as well as
of the Koran on these occasions is that people are so familiar with the
Koran, many even knowing it by heart, that the effect of it has been dulled
by constant repetition. One cannot be always quoting new verses of the
Koran as one can of poetry. Once, when some wild Arabs were hearing the
Koran or the first time and were strongly moved by it, Abu Bakr said to
them, "We were once like you, but our hearts have grown hard," meaning
that the Koran loses some of its effect on those familiar with it. For
the same reason the Caliph Omar used to command the pilgrims to Mecca to
leave it quickly. "For," he said, "I fear if you grow too familiar with
the Holy City the awe of it will depart from your hearts."
There is, moreover, something pertaining to the
light and frivolous, at least in the eyes of the common people, in the
use of signing and musical instruments, such as the pipe and drum, and
it is not befitting that the majesty of the Koran should be, even temporarily,
associated with these things. It is related of the Prophet that once, when
he entered the house of Rabia, the daughter of Muaz, some singing-girls
who were there began extemporizing in his honour. He abruptly bade them
cease, as the praise of the Prophet was too sacred a theme to be treated
in that way. There is also some danger, if verses of the Koran are exclusively
used, that the bearers should attach to them some private interpretation
of their own, and this is unlawful. On the other hand, no harm attaches
to interpreting lines of poetry in various ways, as it is not necessary
to apply to a poem the same meaning which the author had.
Other features of these mystic dances are the
bodily contortions and tearing of clothes with which they are sometimes
accompanied. If these are the result of genuine ecstatic conditions there
is nothing to be said against them, but if they are self-conscious and
deliberate on the part of those who wish to appear "adepts," then they
are merely acts of hypocrisy. In any case the more perfect adept is he
who controls himself till he is absolutely obliged to give vent to his
feelings. It is related of a certain youth who was a disciple of Sheikh
Junaid that, on hearing singing commence in an assembly of the Sufis, he
could not restrain himself, but began to shriek in ecstasy. Junaid said
to him, "If you do that again, do not remain in my company." After this
the youth used to restrain himself on such occasions, but at last one day
his emotions were so powerfully stirred that, after long and forcible repression
of them, he uttered a shriek and died.
To conclude: in holding these assemblies, regard
must be had to time and place, and that no spectators come from unworthy
motives. Those who participate in them should sit in silence, not looking
at one another, but keeping their heads bent, as at prayer, and concentrating
their minds on God. Each should watch for whatever may be revealed to his
own heart, and not make any movements from mere self-conscious impulse.
But if anyone of them stands up in a state of genuine ecstasy all the rest
should stand up with him, and if anyone's turban falls off the others should
also lay their turbans down.
Although these matters are comparative novelties
in Islam and have not been received from the first followers of the Prophet,
we must remember that all novelties are not forbidden, but only those which
directly contravene the Law. For instance, the "Tarawih," or night
prayer, was first instituted by the Caliph Omar. The Prophet said, "Live
with each man according to his habits and disposition," therefore it is
right to fall in with usages that please people, when non-conformity would
vex them. It is true that the Companions were not in the habit of rising
on the entrance of the Prophet, as they disliked this practice; but where
it has become established, and abstaining from it would cause annoyance,
it is better to conform to it. The Arabs have their own customs, and the
Persians have theirs, and God knoweth which is best.
1. Literally, "Outsiders."
2. Muhammad's favourite wife.
3. Subsequently the first caliph.
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