Islam and Music: Myth Vs. Reality

Feeding from and into the popular misconceptions about the place of music in Islam and Muslim society, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently has claimed that Islam prohibits music and song. This claim is false. It relies on narrow views. It ignores the full history of Islam. It overlooks diverse traditions in the faith. Music has deep roots in Islamic culture. It serves spiritual and social roles. It connects the soul to the Divine for those who pursue spirituality. 

The Quran has no verse that bans music. It mentions instruments like the lute and flute in positive ways. For example, in Surah An-Najm, it speaks of a “melodious voice” from heaven. The Prophet Muhammad did not forbid music outright. He allowed it in joyful settings. At weddings, he let girls sing songs of praise. They used the daff, a simple frame drum. He listened and smiled. He said such songs bring happiness. This shows music can uplift the heart, according to Islam. It goes with faith when it avoids excess or lewdness. He even joined in clapping to rhythms during battles to boost morale. His example set a tone of balance. Music was not a threat but a gift.

 

Some hadith texts suggest bans on music. These are weak or disputed. Many trace back to one companion, Umar ibn al-Khattab. Umar was the second caliph. He valued strict discipline. He saw music as a distraction from prayer. During Hajj, he whipped singers in the streets. He feared it led to idleness. As ruler, he banned string instruments in Medina. He removed lutes from markets. He ordered patrols to enforce quiet. But these were his decisions. They came from his time of war and hardship. The Prophet never issued such a broad ban. Other scholars later relaxed these rules. They saw Umar’s views as personal, not binding. Ijma, or consensus, allows music for good purposes. Later jurists like Al-Ghazali weighed in. They permitted it if it stirs piety.

 

Many of the Prophet’s companions embraced music. They saw it as part of life. Aisha, his beloved wife, loved songs. She invited girls to sing and dance in her home. The Prophet watched with joy. He called it a mercy. She later defended music against critics. Abu Bakr, the first caliph, recited poetry with a tune. He used melody to teach Quran verses. His voice carried emotion in lessons. Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth caliph, wrote verses himself. He praised “nasheeds” with rhythm. These are devotional songs. He said they soften the heart for truth. Ibn Abbas, a great scholar, defended music that stirs love for God. He said songs like those of Bilal, the first muezzin, touch the soul. Bilal’s call to prayer was a melody itself. Even Umar softened at times. He permitted the daff during Eid festivals. He allowed women to sing at home. He joined in cheers at victories. This variety proves no single ban exists. Companions balanced joy and piety. Their lives show music as a bridge to God.

 

Sufi music began in early Islamic times. It started in the 8th and 9th centuries. Places like Basra in Iraq and Nishapur in Persia were key. Sufism grew as a mystical path. It sought direct union with God. Early Sufis faced criticism from rulers. They turned to music for inner peace. Rabia al-Basri, a woman saint from the 8th century, used chants in her prayers. She sang of divine love. Her poems became songs. She cried out in verse, “I carry You in my heart.” These words echoed in gatherings. Later, Al-Hallaj in the 9th century faced death for his ecstatic verses. These were set to tunes. He shouted “Ana al-Haqq” in rapture. His story inspired singers. The term sama means “listening.” It refers to spiritual concerts. Sufis used voice and simple tools. The ney flute symbolized the soul’s longing. It wails like a reed separated from its root. The daff drum marked rhythms of the heart. This music blended with local arts. It drew from Arab poetry and Persian modes. It evolved from desert chants to courtly airs.

 

Ibn Arabi added profound depth to this tradition. Born in 1165 in Murcia, Spain, he was a towering Sufi mystic. He traveled widely, from Andalusia to Mecca. His writings shaped Sufi thought on love and unity. In Tarjuman al-Ashwaq, his 13th-century poetry collection, he expressed divine romance. These ghazals pulse with passion. They describe God as the Beloved. Lines like “My heart holds every faith” became anthems. Sufis set them to melody in sama sessions. His verses fueled ecstatic dances. In Fusus al-Hikam, he linked music to cosmology. He saw tones as mirrors of divine names. Each note reveals wahdat al-wujud, the unity of being. Ibn Arabi attended sama in Damascus. He defended it against foes. He said music unveils the heart’s secrets. Like a veil lifted, it shows truth. His influence spread through disciples. Orders like the Shadhili adopted his poems. Singers in Fez and Cairo chant them today. Ibn Arabi’s work made music a path to gnosis. It turned songs into ladders to heaven.

 

Sufi orders helped spread this music far and wide. Each tariqa, or order, added its style. The Chishti order reached India in the 12th century. It flowered under Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi. His disciple Amir Khusrau invented new forms. In the 13th century, he mixed Persian scales with Indian ragas. He created qawwali, a call-and-response style. Singers repeat Allah’s names in trance. Drums build to crescendos. Today, qawwali echoes at Ajmer and Nizamuddin’s shrines. Thousands gather yearly. They sway in unity. The Naqshbandi order took silent dhikr with melody to Central Asia. In Bukhara, they used soft chants. It spread to Turkey under Ottoman rule. There, it entered palace halls. Sultans hosted concerts with ney masters.

 

The Mevlevi order, founded by Rumi’s followers, made whirling dances famous. In 13th-century Konya, Anatolia, dervishes spun to ney and drum. This sema ritual seeks fana, or annihilation in God. Rumi’s Masnavi verses drive the spin. It influenced art and poetry across Europe. Bells on skirts chime like prayers. In North Africa, Sufi music fused with Berber traditions. The Gnawa brotherhood in Morocco started in the 16th century. Slaves from sub-Saharan lands brought it. They use the guembri, a three-string lute. Their lila ceremonies heal through possession and song. Castanets clap in frenzy. In East Africa, the Taarab style arose in Zanzibar. From the 19th century, it mixed Arabic ud lute with Swahili lyrics. Sultan Barghash patronized it. It spread to Kenya and Tanzania coasts. Ensembles play at weddings. Lyrics tell of longing and fate.

 

Ibn Khaldun offers deep insight. He was a 14th-century Tunisian scholar. In his Muqaddimah, he treats music as a science. He places it under math and physics. He explains tones through ratios. A string’s length halves for an octave. This echoes Greek ideas like Pythagoras. He studies modes, or maqams. Arab bayati mode brings sadness. It softens the spirit. Hijaz mode stirs passion. It awakens zeal. He links music to society. Bedouins sang simple chants for camels. These kept herds calm. Cities developed complex orchestras. Flutes and ouds filled bazaars. Courts in Baghdad used it for feasts. It boosted soldiers’ morale. Caliphs rewarded composers.

 

Khaldun sees music’s power on the soul. It moves humors in the body. It can lead to ecstasy, like Sufi trances. Or it brings calm reflection. A slow tune heals grief. He warns of excess. Drunken songs corrupt. They lead to sin. But pure music ennobles. It refines character. He says bans come from culture, not faith. Rural tribes shun it for hardship. They focus on survival. Urban folk embrace it. They seek beauty. His work influenced later thinkers. It shows Islam values knowledge of arts. From theory to practice, it honors creation.

 

Islamic music in Bengal and Assam came  through Sufi paths. It blends faith with local rhythms. Fakiri songs echo in Bengal’s villages. Marfati verses praise the Prophet there. Zikir chants rise in Assam’s hills. These forms draw from early Sufis. They unite hearts across borders. They turn melody into prayer.

 

Bengal’s Islamic music roots in the 13th century. Sufi saints arrived with Delhi’s sultans. They settled in deltas and dooars. Places like Sylhet and Chittagong became hubs. Fakirs wandered as mendicants. They sang to spread the message of Islam, God’s oneness. Local boatmen and farmers joined. Drums and flutes mixed with calls to God. This created a gentle sound. It soothed souls amid floods and harvests.

 

Fakiri songs form the core. They live simply, like the Prophet. These songs started in the 15th century. Haji Bayazid Bistami’s followers inspired them. But Bengal’s own Lalon Shah, in the 18th century, shaped them deep. Sylhet’ Hason Raja made huge contribution to this tradition. Rabindranath Tagore was mesmerised by them. Though syncretic, their tunes carry Islamic fire. Fakiri lyrics speak of inner jihad. They urge leaving ego for divine love. Singers use ektara, a one-string lute. It plucks like a heartbeat. The dotara adds strings for depth. Voices rise in call and response. Groups sit in akharas and khanqas, open halls. They sway under banyan trees. A lead singer starts: “Fakir is he who finds the Friend.” Others echo back. This builds trance. Fakiri spread to markets and courts. Mughal nawabs in Murshidabad hosted them. Today, in Bangladesh’s Kushtia, annual fairs draw thousands. Artists like Purna Das Baul keep it alive. But pure Fakiri stays in mosques. It teaches humility through hum.

 

Marfati songs honor the Prophet Muhammad. They arose in the 17th century. Shah Jalal’s descendants in Sylhet penned early ones. Abdul Karim Shah, a 19th-century poet, mastered them. He wrote in simple Bengali. His lines flow like river currents. Singers use mandira cymbals. These ring like stars. The sarinda bow scrapes soulful notes. Groups perform at milads, birthday gatherings. Women veil and join softly. Men beat dobs, clay drums. A verse goes: “Light of lights, you guide the lost.” It stirs tears and joy. Marfati crossed to India after 1947. In West Bengal’s Murshidabad, they fill Eid nights. Radios once aired them. Now apps stream live. Scholars like Muhammad Enamul Haq studied them. He called them bridges to Sunnah. They keep the Prophet close. In daily life, they calm feuds. A Marfati shared heals rifts.

 

Assam’s Zikir ties to Bengal’s flow. But it grows wild in tea gardens and valleys. Zikir means remembrance. It chants Allah’s names. Sufis brought it in the 16th century. Sayyid Shah Milan, from Baghdad, settled in Goalpara. His order, the Milani, fused Zikir with Bodo beats. Early Zikirs were silent. Then melody entered. In the 18th century, under Ahom kings, it spread. Muslims in Kamrup hid in forests. They sang low to avoid raids. Zikir uses dotara too. But Assam adds bamboo flutes. These whistle like winds in Brahmaputra. Groups form majlis in madrasas. They sit cross-legged. A pir leads: “La ilaha illallah.” Drums pulse slow. Breath deepens. Hands clap in unison. This seeks fana, loss in God. Women have separate circles. They hum softly. Zikir nights last till dawn. In Barpeta’s sattras, it blends with Vaishnava chants. Pir of Baghbar’s tomb hosts yearly urs. Pilgrims from Manipur join. Thousands circle in ecstasy.

 

These traditions link Bengal and Assam. Rivers carry songs downstream. Traders swap tunes at haats, markets. Sufi pirs marry across lines. Fakiri influences Zikir rhythms. Marfati verses enter Assamese madrasas. In 20th century, partitions split them. Yet radio united. All India Radio aired Fakiri in 1950s. Assam’s AIR Guwahati broadcast Zikir. Now, YouTube revives. Young singers like Zahid Khan mix them with folk. Festivals like Beshakh in Sylhet draw crowds. Assam’s Ali Ai Ligiri fair echoes Marfati.

 

Figures like Haji Mohammad Fakir shaped Bengal’s sound. In 19th century Kushtia, he wandered with ektara. His songs warned of worldly traps. “Fakir begs not bread, but sight of Him.” Disciples spread them to Dhaka. In Assam, Gias Uddin Ahmed wrote Zikir poems. His 20th-century works use local words. They praise the Prophet in Kamrupi dialect. Scholars analyze them. Enamul Haq’s books trace roots. He links to Persian sama. But local soil makes them unique.

 

Sufi music reached the West too. In the 20th century, Inayat Khan took it to Europe. He founded Sufi centers in London. He taught universal harmony through ragas. Artists like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan globalized qawwali. His 1980s tours filled stadiums in the US and UK. His voice soared over tablas. Abida Parveen sings in Urdu and Punjabi. Her voice carries Sufi fire. She wails of separation from God. Modern fusions blend it with jazz or rock. Peter Gabriel collaborated on tracks. Festivals like Fez in Morocco draw crowds. Pakistan’s Data Ganj Bakhsh urs features all-night sama. Voices rise in chorus. This shows music’s living role. It unites Muslims across borders. It counters isolation. It adapts yet stays pure.

 

Challenges face these arts. Urban youth chase Bollywood. Mosques ban instruments sometimes. Like Umar’s old rigor. But resilience holds. NGOs teach Fakiri in schools. Bangladesh’s folk academy revives Marfati. Assam’s cultural boards fund Zikir troupes. Global diaspora sings them in London. They keep roots alive.

 

Islamic music in Bengal and Assam whispers eternity. Fakiri humbles. Marfati exalts. Zikir remembers. They join heart and rhythm. From deltas to hills, they draw to the Divine. True faith sings what silences fear. It unites in melody.

 

Sarma’s claim misses this rich story. It paints Islam as rigid. Yet music builds community. It teaches tawhid, God’s oneness. From prophetic homes to global stages, it joins heart and rhythm. Islam celebrates what draws the believers to the Divine. Bans serve fear, not faith. They divide. Music unites. It echoes eternity.

"Muslim threat": facts and figures

In recent years, especially during election campaigns and on social media, leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have repeatedly claimed that India's Muslim population is growing at an alarming rate, threatening to outnumber Hindus and destabilize the country. For instance, in October 2025, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated during a rally that the Muslim population has risen to 24.6 percent due to infiltration from Bangladesh and Pakistan, while the Hindu share has dropped, framing it as a direct threat to national security. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has echoed this, alleging "planned efforts" since the 1930s to increase Muslim numbers through conversions, infiltration, and foreign funding, calling for a uniform population policy to maintain "balance." A 2024 working paper from the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council was seized upon by BJP spokespersons like Amit Malviya, who warned on social media that Muslims' share grew 43 percent from 1950 to 2015, suggesting a conspiracy under opposition rule that could leave "no country for Hindus." These assertions, often amplified in Bihar's 2025 assembly polls where Muslims in regions like Seemanchal are labeled "Bangladeshi infiltrators," are not new—they stem from the RSS's founding ideology in 1925, which has long portrayed Muslims as outsiders intent on demographic dominance to undermine Hindu society. But a closer look at census data, fertility trends, independent studies, and even judicial scrutiny reveals these claims as baseless propaganda, designed more to polarize voters than reflect reality.

The core of this narrative rests on selective statistics that ignore context and trends. India's 2011 Census, the most recent full count before the 2021 exercise delayed to 2025-26, shows Muslims at 14.2 percent of the population, or about 172 million, with Hindus at 79.8 percent. Projections for 2025 estimate Muslims at around 200-230 million, still 14-15 percent of India's 1.45 billion total, far from Shah's inflated 24.6 percent figure, which appears to misuse outdated or unadjusted decadal growth rates without accounting for base effects. The EAC paper, titled "Share of Religious Minorities: A Cross-Country Analysis (1950-2015)," has been widely criticized for fueling this myth. It reports a 7.82 percent decline in Hindus' share (from 84.68 to 78.06 percent) and a 43.15 percent rise in Muslims' (from 9.84 to 14.09 percent), but experts like the Population Foundation of India called these "misreported" and "misleading," noting the paper uses relative percentage changes in shares, not absolute growth, exaggerating shifts in a growing population. As demographer Poonam Muttreja explained, the absolute increase was modest— Muslims added 4.25 percentage points over 65 years— consistent with global trends where minorities grow proportionally in diverse societies, not evidence of a "population jihad." The Hindu's editorial dubbed it "clickbait," pointing out how it ignores fertility convergence and was timed amid 2024 elections to stoke communal fears. Al Jazeera's analysis labeled it a "half-truth" that revives unfounded conspiracy theories, especially since the paper's own data shows India's changes align with tolerant democracies, not authoritarian regimes where majorities suppress minorities.

Digging into fertility rates dismantles the "breeding threat" trope even further. The National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21) records Muslim total fertility at 2.36 children per woman, down from 4.41 in 1992-93— a 46 percent drop— compared to Hindus' 1.94 from 3.3, a 41 percent decline. Muslims have seen the steepest fall among all groups, with Christians at 1.88, Sikhs at 1.61, and Jains at 1.6. A 2024 India Forum study confirms rapid convergence across socio-religious lines, driven by education, urbanization, and women's empowerment, not religion. Pew Research's 2021 report, based on NFHS and census data, notes Muslims' higher baseline stems from socioeconomic factors like lower literacy (68.5 percent vs. Hindus' 73.3 percent) and poverty, but rates are equalizing; by 2050, Muslims are projected at 18 percent (310 million), Hindus at 77 percent (1.2 billion), with overall population stabilizing below replacement level (2.1). Former Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi's 2021 book "The Population Myth" crunches decades of data to show Muslims' growth rate slowing faster (from 32.9 percent in 1981-91 to 24.6 in 2001-11) than Hindus' (22.7 to 16.8), debunking polygamy claims— it's rarer among Muslims (1.9 percent) than Hindus (5.8 percent)— and attributing differences to development gaps, not intent. A 2024 IDR article highlights how misinformation ignores regional variations: southern states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu have sub-2.0 TFR across faiths, while northern ones like Bihar lag for all, proving economics, not faith, drives births. Even Bangladesh, often cited as a source of "infiltrators," has a TFR of 2.0, undercutting migration-driven explosion theories.

Assam serves as a prime example where this propaganda takes root, blending border fears with religious bias. Historical census tables from 1911-71 reveal no disproportionate Muslim surge. As detailed in Susanta Krishna Dass's paper "Immigration and Demographic Transformation of Assam, 1891-1981," published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 15, No. 19 (May 10, 1980), pp. 850-859, Table 9 in the paper shows Assam's Muslim share rising modestly from 25.09 percent in 1951 to 25.96 in 1971, while Hindus went from 65.09 to 67.88 percent. In 1961-71, Muslims actually declined by 0.74 percentage points, Hindus gained 1.18, and Christians 0.18—contrasting India's national trend where Hindu share fell 0.78 points and Muslim rose 0.50. Table 10 in Dass (1980) compares Assam to India: Muslim growth lagged nationally, with lower variation rates. These figures account for territorial changes—Sylhet's 1947 partition removed a Muslim-majority area, and later splits of Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram shifted Christian populations—explaining apparent swells without infiltration. Dass's analysis in the paper finds Assam's post-1951 growth outpaced India's due to natural increases, Hindu refugees from East Pakistan, and internal migration, not Bangladeshi Muslims. Post-1947 inflows were mostly Bengali Hindus fleeing violence, not Muslims. Dass tested the assimilation hypothesis: if Muslim infiltrators adopted Assamese, both Muslim and Assamese-speaking shares should spike. They didn't— Assamese speakers grew normally, Muslim rates paralleled Hindus'. "Apprehensions about infiltration... are not supported by facts," he concluded in the paper, corroborated by the tables showing Muslim increases never exceeding Hindus' except in 1911-31's economic migration era. Recent studies echo this: a 2024 Hindu op-ed dispels EAC-triggered myths, noting Assam's adjusted data shows stable ratios, with no evidence of post-1971 floods. South Asia Monitor's 2022 analysis calls the "explosion" a myth, as Muslims' decadal growth has halved since 1981, aligning with national declines.

This distortion extends to the judiciary, where RSS influence has shaped outcomes only to be later corrected. In the 2005 Sarbananda Sonowal v. Union of India (2005 (5) SCC 665) case, the Supreme Court struck down the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act, 1983 (IMDT), which placed the burden on accusers to prove illegal migration in Assam's sensitive context. The judgment heavily relied on a 1998 report by Governor S.K. Sinha, an RSS-affiliated ex-army officer who claimed 5,000-10,000 monthly Muslim infiltrators posed "external aggression" under Article 355 of the Constitution of India, equating them to invaders worse than China's. Sinha's report, criticized as "spurious" for lacking data and relying on anecdotes, ignored Dass's findings and exaggerated threats to justify harsh measures. The Court, invoking Sinha uncritically, shifted proof to the accused under the Foreigners Act, 1946, enabling arbitrary detentions. But in October 2024's ruling on challenges to Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955—inserted via the 1985 Assam Accord to grant citizenship to pre-1971 migrants while deporting later ones— a 4:1 Supreme Court bench upheld it [Section 6A of the Citizenship Act 1955, In Re, 2024 SCC OnLine SC 2880, decided on 17-10-2024] dismissing Sonowal's infiltration rhetoric as non-binding "obiter dicta," not core "ratio decidendi." CJI D.Y. Chandrachud's majority opinion emphasized Parliament's Article 11 powers for such exceptions, noting Assam's higher migrant ratio but no proven cultural or demographic overrun. Justice Surya Kant added that post-Accord mechanisms like NRC have addressed concerns without evidence of ongoing aggression. Dissenting Justice Pardiwala worried about unchecked influx, but the verdict exposed Sonowal's flaws: Sinha's bias, unverified claims, and overreach. This reversal highlights how propaganda infiltrates institutions— Sinha's RSS ties, including praise for founders like Hedgewar, tainted his "report," yet it swayed a bench amid rising Hindutva tides.

Ultimately, this RSS-BJP campaign exposes a calculated strategy to "other" Muslims, rooted in the Sangh's 1925 origins amid colonial communalism. Studies like a 2022 Wire fact-check trace it to debunked myths of "population imbalance," revived via fake news despite data showing stability. Policies like CAA-NRC exclude Muslims from citizenship register, codifying bias, while ignoring real issues: India's TFR at 2.0 risks aging crises by 2040, with 200 million stunted children and unemployment demanding focus over division. In Assam, it sparked 1983's Nellie massacre (2,000 dead) and 2012 riots, turning economic migrants into scapegoats. Nationally, it distracts from governance failures, as CFR notes worsening discrimination under BJP. Facts from Pew, NFHS, and courts refute the explosion—growth is natural, converging, and non-threatening. The real aggression? Propaganda that erodes India's secular weave for electoral gains. As Quraishi argues, addressing development closes gaps; fearmongering only widens them.

Table 9 and Table 10 from "Immigration and Demographic Transformation of Assam, 1891-1981," published in Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 15, No. 19 (May 10, 1980), pp. 850-859.

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[115] Fact-Check: Mohan Bhagwat’s ‘Religion-Based Imbalance’ Theory … - https://thewire.in/communalism/fact-check-mohan-bhagwats-religion-based-imbalance-theory-and-indias-population-growth (Published: Oct 5, 2022)

[116] Demographic myth about the Muslim Population in India - Islamonweb - https://en.islamonweb.net/demographic-myth-about-the-muslim-population-in-india (Published: May 20, 2024)

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[118] Fact vs fiction: National Family Health Survey busts some myths … - https://theprint.in/india/fact-vs-fiction-national-family-health-survey-busts-some-myths-about-muslims-in-india/966513/ (Published: May 23, 2022)

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[123] INDIA’S FALLING FERTILITY RATE: A WAKE-UP CALL - Lukmaan IAS - https://blog.lukmaanias.com/2024/04/01/indias-falling-fertility-rate-a-wake-up-call/ (Published: Apr 1, 2024)

[124] Prospective Changes in the Age Structure of India’s Population - https://www.theindiaforum.in/society/prospective-changes-age-structure-indias-population-regional-dimension (Published: Jul 15, 2024)

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[126] Forgetting Nellie: Forty two years and counting - Genocide Watch - https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/forgetting-nellie-forty-two-years-and-counting (Published: Mar 7, 2025)

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