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Music
 It is
widely thought that music is forbidden in Islam. Scholars
cite
hadith, or sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, that
certain types of music distract from worship, and that music
is a source of temptation that leads to committing other
excesses and sins. Others cite
hadith showing that the Prophet Muhammad did
permit singing, as long as the purpose of the song itself is
beneficial, and the words used in the song fall within the
range of permitted speech.
For
example, songs that are neither defamatory nor incite to
sin, that are sung to accompany work or stir the audience to
remembrance and unity are permitted. According to this
interpretation, Islamic practice recognizes the elemental
human affinity for rhythmic speech and melody. There is also
wide agreement that use of the drum to enhance and lead the
rhythm of song is permitted.
Music
offers an interesting example of the intersections and
differences between religious beliefs and culture in Muslim
societies. Whatever religious scholars may have said about
musical expression, every cultural and ethnic group now
counted among the Muslims of the world has its musical
traditions and expressions.
These
traditions have been adapted to Islamic ideals,
incorporating spiritual ideas and celebrating Islamic
themes. They have become part of Islamic rites of passage
and events such as marriages, births, and festivals. Many
groups have brought their native musical instruments into
the culture and retained them, as well as passing them on to
others. Drums and other rhythm instruments, plucked and
bowed stringed instruments, and horns and flutes, are found
among the musical traditions and folk arts of Muslim
peoples.
The
common thread of the art of the human voice runs through in
Arabic and other languages such as Persian, Turkish, Urdu,
and hundreds of other Asian, African, and European
languages.Both the Islamic call to prayer and
the art of reciting the Qur’an have influenced artistic
expression in Muslim culture. Islamic worship incorporates
"music" into worship, but not in the same sense as Christian
choral or organ music, for example. The call to prayer is an
art form that utilizes tonal variation and rhythm in the
human voice. Recitation of the Qur’an beautifies
the words through tone, rhythm, and the shaping of the
words. The living Qur’an is not only or primarily the
written word. The Qur’an is first of all the recited word of
God -- sounded with perfection and beauty that equals the
most magnificent calligraphy. There are numerous styles of
recitation that trace their origin to the teaching of
Muhammad, in a direct line to the present, passed down the
ages through many masters.
 Arabic
poetry is a tradition related to music and song. It began in
pre-Islamic times and continued after the coming of Islam,
drawing upon the themes and forms of pre-Islamic poetry for
several centuries. During the first centuries of Islam,
poetry was the major art form, which spread with the spread
of the Arabic language into the expanding lands under Muslim
rule. Poetry was the basis of song traditions in Arabic that
were influenced by contact with many cultural traditions,
and had a great influence on them that is still felt today.
As the
Arabs came into contact with other cultural influences
through expansion and conversion of new Muslims, various
traditions of music, musical instruments, and rhythmic forms
blended into the mix of Muslim culture. Literate and
scholarly traditions expanded beyond the religious
disciplines, coming into contact with the high cultures of
Persia, India, Byzantium, and the Greek heritage.
The
Abbasid translation effort brought exposure to mathematics
and philosophy, which included ideas about music theory,
through the translation of Greek works that treated music
theory as a branch of mathematics.
 Al-Kindi
(800-877 CE) wrote about music theory, including the scales
(the mathematical intervals or divisions between notes). He
wrote musical notation using letters, and described how to
produce accurate scales on the lute, called
‘ud in Arabic, by arranging the frets (metal
fingering bars on the neck of the instrument). Al-Kindi is
said to have first used the Arabized word
musiqi. Ibn Sina (b. 980 CE) also contributed to
music theory based on Greek models and described various
instruments, and as a physician he explored the effect of
music on healing.
Arab
mathematician and philosopher al-Farabi (870-950 CE) was
known as a musician and scientist of music theory who wrote
The Great Book of Music. Al-Farabi’s masterwork
became influential among mathematicians and musicians for
many centuries afterwards, including in Al-Andalus. Al-Farabi
discussed musical scales and intervals, the concept of pitch
and tuning instruments, among other innovations still being
studied today.
Al-Farabi’s
Great Book of Music was translated in Spain by
Ibn Aqnin (1160-1226 CE), first into Hebrew, and then into
Latin. Its titles in Latin --
De Scientiis and
De Ortu Scientiarum -- show that music theory was
considered a scientific discipline. Classical and Islamic
ideas of music theory were very influential in the
development of European music theory, though the transfer of
knowledge from Arabic sources has not been sufficiently
recognized.
Performance art and music theory came together in the royal
courts of Al-Andalus throughout the period of Muslim rule.
Ziryab -- whose real name was
Abul-Hasan Alí Ibn Nafí, born in Iraq in 789 CE of North
African heritage -- was a musician who represented the
courtly arts and cultivated society. Al-Hakam, father of
Abd-Al-Rahman II, invited him to his court at Córdoba. He
had studied music under a famous teacher in Baghdad, and
brought knowledge of music performance and knowledge to the
Muslim lands of the west. He established a music
conservatory in Córdoba that trained young musicians,
spreading his influence to other courts.
Ziryab
was probably the first to introduce the lute to Spain. He
changed the way it was played by adding a fifth string and
using an eagle’s talon instead of a wooden pick. His talent
and influence included ideas about harmony, rhythm, and
composition. Scholars of music history trace many later
styles of song composition and performance to Ziryab.
Certainly, his influence brought eastern styles as well as
classical Greek and Arab musical ideas to Al-Andalus, but
once there, they combined with North African and indigenous
Iberian styles over time to create a distinctive Andalusian
musical tradition. The tradition continued even after the
end of Muslim rule on the Iberian Peninsula.
 Written
and pictorial evidence proves that a large number of musical
instruments were used in Al-Andalus, whose origins lay in
Asian, the Mediterranean, and African regional traditions.
The mingling of cultures and the mobility brought about by
trade, travel, and migration resulted in the transfer of
many instruments and ways of performing with them. Literary
evidence of musical instruments can be found in poetry, in
the lyrics of songs, and on carved and painted artworks.
Among
the works of translation and preservation of musical culture
that were carried out after the conquest of Muslim cities,
that of
Alfonso X “the Wise” (1221-1284 CE)
stands out. The
Cantigas de Santa Maria is a set of illustrated
Medieval manuscripts that forms one of the largest
collections of songs from the Medieval period and tells much
about the Andalusian legacy and about daily life, trade, and
religious activities. The illustrations on these pages from
the
Cantigas show only a few of the instruments that
experts attribute to the influence of Muslims in Al-Andalus.
Many
musical instruments that found their way into Spanish and
then European musical traditions have Arabic names that are
similar to their names in Spanish and other languages.
Examples include: the guitar (Arabic:
guitara or
kaithaar); the lute (‘ud);
and two stringed instruments, the rebec (Arabic:
rabab) and the violin (Arabic:
kamancha), that probably came from Central Asia
originally but entered Europe through Spain.
Another
famous instrument is the zither (Arabic:
qanun), a stringed instrument with a wooden sound
box played flat on a table or lap, which gave rise to the
dulcimer, the harpsichord, and eventually, the piano, but is
still played in its original form. This instrument is found
in many forms in Africa and Asia, differing in size, tuning,
and number of strings.
Wind
instruments like the flute and various horns are found in
many cultures, but specific types seem to have transferred
directly through Spain to Europe. Another wind instrument is
the bagpipe, which is shown in illustrations from the
period. Bagpipes are also found in North Africa among
nomadic herders, who often used leather bladders as wind
chambers.
In
addition to instrumental music and song, traditions of dance
are also attributed to the influence of Al-Andalus. The most
famous is the art of flamenco, but there are also many folk
styles in Spain and Portugal that can be traced to the
mingling of cultures there. Like cooking and clothing, music
tends to move easily from place to place, and across
language and religious barriers. It also tends to remain
rooted in tradition despite the many changes and upheavals
in the lives of the people who carry them from generation to
generation.
Further
Reading:
Manuel
Pedro Ferreira. “Andalusian Music and the Cantigas de Santa
Maria,” retrieved at
http://www.fcsh.unl.pt/cesem/publicacoesonline/artigos/andalusianmusicmpf.pdf
, linked on the Cantigas de
Santa Maria Home Page with many other articles and web pages
retrieved at
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/
Rabah
Saoud. “The Arab Contribution to Music of the Western
World,” Foundation for Science Technology and Civilization,
retrieved at
http://www.muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?TaxonomyTypeID=13
with other links to articles
on music in Muslim civilization.
Search
“music” and “musical instruments” at 1001 Inventions virtual
exhibit at
http://www.1001inventions.com
Images:
All
instrument illustrations from The Cantigas of Santa
Maria: Illuminations under “Color Images”
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas/images/
, scanned by Greg Lindahl from
the Cantigas de Santa Maria Home Page at
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cantigas
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