Headphones

Claim:

Prophet Muhammad prophesied headphones over 1400 years ago. He said music will be played on
their heads, as Sheikh Hamza Yusuf explained in his lecture.

Response:
ْ ُُ ََ ُ َُْ
The phrase “‫وس ِه ْم ِبال َم َع ِاز ِف‬
ِ ‫”يعزف عل رء‬, if translated literally into English, says “played upon their heads
with musical instruments”. Neither translators nor hadith commentators paid special attention to
this phrase, as it is merely an expression in the Arabic language that is to be understood as
instruments being played for them. In the context of the hadith, this understanding also appears to
make the most sense as the narration seems to describe a gathering where people are engaged in
festivities.

َ ُ َُ ُ ْ َ ِّ َ ُ ْ َ َ َْ ْ ُ ُ َ َ ُ َ ْ ُ َ ْ ْ َ َ َ ُّ َ ُ ْ َ ْ ُ ْ َ َ َ ْْ َ َ
‫ض َو َي ْج َع ُل‬
َ ‫األ ْر‬ ‫ات َيخ ِسف اّلل ِب ِهم‬ ِْ ‫شبن ناس ِمن أم ِ ِت الخم َر يسمونها ِبغ ِي اس ِمها يعزف ْعل رء‬
ِ ‫وس ِهم ِبالمع ِاز ِف والمغني‬ ‫لي‬
َ َ
َ‫ِم ْن ُه ُم ال ِق َر َدة َوالخ َنازير‬
ِ
“People among my nation will drink wine, calling it by another name, and musical instruments will
be played for them and singing girls (will sing for them). Allah will cause the earth to swallow them
up, and will turn them into monkeys and pigs.”

https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:4020

Shaykh 'Abdur-Rahman ibn Naasir al-Barrak says:

‫يضب عل رءوسهم‬‫معت ر‬
‫ هذا ر‬،‫وتغت القيان‬
‫ر‬ ‫تضب المعازف ر‬
،‫بحضتهم‬ ‫ ر‬،‫بحضتهم‬
‫يضب ر‬
‫يعت ر‬
‫ر‬ ‫ر‬
ِ ِ : ‫يضب عل رءوسهم بالمعازف‬،
‫أي بحضورهم المعازف‬

“The instruments are played on their heads” means: it is being played while they are present; the
instruments are being played and the slave girls sing; and this is the meaning of 'being played over
their head' meaning with them present.

https://halakat.taimiah.org/index.aspx?function=Printable&id=968&node=6933

Another hadith contains the same expression to express “strike the tambourine for you”:

‫بنذر ِك‬ ُ ُّ
‫أض َب عل ر ِأسك بالد ِف فقال‬
ُ
‫نذرت أن ر‬ ‫ِّر‬ َ
ِ ‫أوف‬ِ ‫للا‬
ِ ‫رسول‬ ‫إن‬
ِ ‫للا‬ِ ‫رسول‬ ‫يا‬: ‫أن امرأة قالت‬
‫ر‬
‫ إرواء الغليل‬: ‫األلبان |المصدر‬ : ‫ [جد عمرو بن شعيب] |المحدث‬: ‫الراوي‬
ِ
‫ صحيح‬: ‫ |خالصة حكم المحدث‬2588 : ‫الصفحة أو الرقم‬

A woman said: O Messenger of God, I vowed to strike the tambourine for you (lit: ‫أسك‬
ِ ‫لر‬
‫“ ع ى‬on your
head”). The Messenger of God said: Fulfill your vow.

https://dorar.net/h/QmGmnvkx
Miscellaneous:

(Alternative ways of explaining)

A Reddit user wrote:

Linguistically it's challenging. However, there are some easy ways to see that it's not talking about
headphones. In summary: The hadith is referring to people who would sit in gatherings and had
musical instruments being played "on their heads." Meaning, either in their presence, or literally
above their heads by slave girls who would stand, roam around, and play music while they sat
around, ate, and drank wine. It's an allusion to the Persians.

Here's some research that corroborates this viewpoint:

The earliest version of the hadith is in the Muwatta by Malik ibn Anas (there were a few versions of
this book, the one with this hadith is in the recension of Abdullah ibn Wahb). We must pay attention
to the grammar here, in this hadith it says that the musical instruments were "beaten upon their
heads" (yudhrabu `ala ruwasihim). Here is the full text:
َْْ َ َْْ ُْ َ ُ ُ َْ
‫ َع ْن أ َِ ِن َم ِالك األش َع ِر ِّي‬، ‫ َع ْن َم ِال ِك ْب ِن أ َِ ِن َم ْر َي َم َع ْب ِد الر ْح َم ِن ْب ِن غنم األش َع ِر ِّي‬، ‫ َع ْن َحا ِت ِم ْب ِن ك َر ْيب‬، ‫ أخ ََ َي ِ ر ِن ُم َع ِاو َية ْب ُن َص ِالح‬،
ُ ُ َ َ ُ َ ْ‫ َو ُي ر‬، ‫ون َها ب َغ ْي ْاسم َها‬ َ ُّ َ ُ ْ َ ْ ُ ْ ُ
َ َ َ ْْ َ َ َ
َ ‫ أن ُه َق‬، ‫اّلل َع َل ْيه َو َس َل َم‬
ُ َ ‫اّلل َص َل‬
َ ُ َ ْ َ
‫وس ِه ُم‬ ِ ‫ضب عل رء‬ ِ ِ َ ِ ْ ‫شبن أن ْاس ِمن أم ِ ِت الخم َر يسم‬ ‫لي‬: " ‫ال‬ ِ ِ ‫ول‬ ِ ‫عن رس‬
َ َ َ ْ
‫ َو َي ْج َع ُل ِمن ُه ْم ِق َردة َوخن ِاز َير‬، ‫ض‬ َُ ‫ف‬
َ ‫اّلل به ُم األ ْر‬ ُ ‫ َي ْخس‬، ‫ف‬ ُ ‫ال َم َعاز‬
ِِ ِ ِ
The Arabic in this usage denotes that the actors (i.e. the people in question) were passive recipients
of the musical instruments. They were not doing the "beating" of the instruments themselves or in
any way performing any action related to music. Therefore, ipso facto, it cannot refer to someone
who is themselves playing music on an iPod, or something.

In short, the hadith in general is referring to gatherings where there is drinking and merriment, which
arose in the "ummah" after the absorption of the Persians, and was thought to be a harbinger of the
end times. You could disagree with this interpretation, but I think the second point will help to
corroborate it.

Second point. There are like a dozen versions of this hadith. Not all of them say that the musical
instruments were "on their heads." It was VERY common for hadith transmitters to switch up phrases
as long as the hadith retained its MEANING. The wording could differ as long as the meaning
(because that's all that matters, right?) stayed the same.

So, in some versions of the hadith (one of which was reported in Ibn Asakir's Tarikh al-Dimashq), the
wording is changed. Rather than saying that the musical instruments will be "on their heads," it says
that musical instruments will "circulate around them" (taruhu `alayhim):
َ
‫م‬ُّ ِ ‫ َع ْن َم ِال ِك ْبن أن َم ْر َي َم ْال َح َك‬، ‫ َع ْن َحا ِتم ْبن ُح َر ْيث‬، ‫ َحد َث ِ رت ُم َعاو َي ُة ْب ُن َص ِالح‬، ‫ َحد َث َنا َزْي ُد ْب ُن ْال ُح َباب‬، ‫َحد َث َنا ُم َحم ُد ْب ُن َخ َلف‬
ِ ِ
َ َ ِ َْ َ ِ َ َ َ ُّ ِ ْ َ ُ ْ ِ ُ َ َ َ ِ َ َ َ
ِ ُ ِ َ ََ َ َ ْ َْ ْ َ َْ ُ َ َ
، ‫ َحدث ِ ر ِت أ ُبو َم ِالك‬: ‫ال َع ْبد الر ْح َم ِن ْب ُن غنم‬ ‫فق‬, ‫فذك ُروا الشاب‬, ‫ش‬ ِ
ْ
ِ ‫ومعنا ر ِبيعة الجر‬, ‫ك َنا ِعند ع ْب ِد الرح َم ِن ب ِن غن ِم‬: ‫َقال‬
ُ ْ َ ُ َْ َ َ َ ْ ُ َ َ َ َ ْْ َ َ َ ‫ َق‬، ‫اّلل َع َل ْيه َو َس َل َم‬
ُ َ ‫اّلل َص َل‬
َ َ ُ َ ْ
‫شبن طا ِئفة ِم ْن أم ِ ِت الخ ْم َر ُي َس ُّمون َها ِبغ ْ ِي ْاس ِم َها تغدو َعل ْي ِه ُم ال ِق َيان‬ ‫لت‬: " ‫ال‬ ِ ِ ‫ول‬ ‫األش َع ِر ُّي أن رس‬
َ َ َ َ ْ َ َ َ َ ُ
َ ‫ أ ْو ق‬، ‫ف ُي ْم َسخ آخ ُر ُه ْم ق َر َدة‬ ْ َ
ُ ‫وح َعل ْيه ُم ال َم َعاز‬ َ
ُ ‫َوت ُر‬
‫طا ِئفة ِمن ُه ْم ِق َردة أ ْو خن ِاز َير‬: " ‫ال‬ ِ ِ ِ ِ
Malik ibn Abi Mariam Al-Hakami said, "We were with Abd al-Rahman ibn Ghanm and with us was
Rabia al-Jurashi, when drinking (alcohol) was mentioned." Abd al-Rahman ibn Ghanm then said, "It
has been narrated to me by Abu Malik al-Ashari that the Messenger of Allah said, 'A community from
my ummah will drink alcohol (al-khamr) and name it something other than its name. They will be
supplied with (taghdu) female singers (al-qiyan) and musical instruments will encircle/circulate
(around) them. A group of them will be transformed into monkeys or pigs.'"
Some versions of the hadith (like the one OP posted) say that it won't be just "musical instruments"
on their heads, but also "mughaniyyat" (literally, female singers). Does this mean female voices
blaring through headphones, or does it mean women roaming around at a party with instruments?
You do the math.

So, it's not about whether the hadith is strong or weak, or who the narrators are, or if Muhammad
actually said it -- it's still a linguistic challenge we need to solve, as the wording needed to be
understood by the people of the time in order to make sense. And, we can now see how the phrase
was understood in the Arabic language by those who were its original interpreters, which does
indeed make sense in the context of the time. Again, we now see that it was used within the context
of immoral gatherings where instrument-wielding slave girls would "circulate" around a room,
playing instruments, and be above the "heads" of the revelers who were seated on the floor.

https://www.reddit.com/r/exmuslim/comments/2wq48r/arabic_speakers_hadith_prophecy_predict
s_ipods/