Is it permissible to perform sama and play the ney? Can you give information regarding the issue?

- It is narrated that it is halal to play the ney, and that the following is mentioned:

“Once, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) told Ali (ra) about very important issues and asked him not to tell anyone about them. Ali (ra) did not tell anyone about those issues but because they were very serious, he could not bear it and leaned over a well and uttered those issues without anyone hearing him. Later on, flowers and herbs came out of the well and someone passing by made a ney out of those herbs and it produced a beautiful sound. Because those flowers and plants come from the Garden of Eden, it is permissible to play the ney...”

Dear Brother / Sister,

Sama lexically means “hearing and listening”. It is also used in the sense of enthusiasm with a beautiful voice and musical accompaniment. In Sufism, sama is a means. The purpose of sama is to make legitimate use of it and to make people listen to the word of God through it. (1)

Islamic Sufis and great scholars such as Imam Ghazali trace sama back to the Prophet’s Companions who were inspired by the blessed words of the Prophet (pbuh):

When Hamza (ra) was martyred, his little daughter was left an orphan. Three Companions, Ali (ra), Jafar (ra) and Zayd bin Thabit (ra), wanted to take this orphan under their care. The Prophet (pbuh) listened to them all.

He said to Ali (ra), “O Ali, you are of me and I am of you.” Thereupon, Ali (ra) started to whirl with joy.

He said to Jafar, “You resemble me physically and in character.” Having heard this nice statement, Jafar began to whirl out of joy.

When he said to Zayd, “You are our brother and our freed slave,” Zayd also began to whirl out of excitement.

Then, the Prophet (pbuh) said, “A maternal aunt is like a mother,” and gave the girl to Jafar. Jafar’s wife was the maternal aunt of the orphan. (2)

Like other Sufis, Imam Ghazali holds the view that the word “hajal” in the text of the hadith to mean “sama and raqs (whirling and dancing)” and states the following:

“Raqs stems from rejoicing and joy. The decree on raqs is dependent on the cause that provokes it. If it is a legitimate and sublime feeling that excites the whirler, his whirling is good because it increases love. If it is permissible, his whirling is also permissible. If he rejoices at something that is illegitimate and a means to haram, his whirling is illegitimate.” (3)

What is meant by “raqs” above is “sama”.

Famous saints and Islamic Sufis, especially Dhunnun al-Misri, Junayd Baghdadi and Shibli, whirled out of enthusiasm when they heard a word that reminded them of Allah and the Hereafter. They performed whirling and uttered words praising whirling.

Having said, “Sama varies according to time, place, and people,” Junayd Baghdadi divides those who perform sama into three groups: awam (the common people), zahids (ascetic people), and arifs (gnostic people).  He considers sama to be good for arifs and zahids, but not for the common people.

Dhunnun al-Misri, on the other hand, says that sama is not permissible for the common people who do not experience divine joy, and he considers the sama performed by ascetics for asceticism and struggle to occur to be permissible. The reason why both Sufis do not consider it good for the common people is that they do not perform it in the face of divine joy and enthusiasm, which is its true purpose.

As for Imam Shafi’i, he states that sama is makruh only for the common people.

In addition, in his book entitled Qutul-Qulub, Imam Ghazali states that some of the Companions of the Prophet performed sama and mentions Abdullah bin Zubayr, Mughira bin Shuba and Muawiya among them.

Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi, on the other hand, states that sama is the food of the lovers of the truth (God), and that it contains a sweet imagination of meeting and reuniting with the beloved (true friend). He also states that sama is a mattress for the hearts of those who have a spiritual state. (4) Although there are different opinions among scholars on the permissibility of sama in terms of fiqh, there is a widespread opinion that it is permissible to perform sama due to divine love, ecstasy and attraction.

As for the issue of whether Mawlana performed sama or not:

Although some sources written in the centuries close to Mawlana’s time state that he did not perform sama, most of the sources state that after meeting Shams at-Tabrizi, Mawlana started sama upon his encouragement.

Once Shams said to him, “Perform sama. You will find what you demand and desire in sama. The reason why sama is forbidden to the common people is because they are busy with their desires.” After this conversation, Mawlana began to perform sama and continued to do so until the end of his life. So much so that when he heard a meaningful word that he liked, he performed sama in Maram Mosque, in Ilica, in Konya square. He says that during sama, he saw the greatness and power of God and their manifestations on the Divine arts. It is said that he answered the questions he was asked during this sema in verse.

In Aflaqi’s “Manaqibul-Arifin”, it is also stated that while Mawlana was making sama, tambourine players were playing the tambourine (def) and ney players were blowing the ney. Mawlana began his Mathnawi by saying, “Listen to the ney, for it tells stories and complains of separations.” He stated that the ney spread the fires of love all around.

Although the commentators of Mathnawi say that the ney denotes “perfect man”, some commentators use the ney in its literal meaning. In one of his poems, Mawlana writes as follows: “The sounds the Ney makes are the fires of love. It is not a material breath that is blown into it. If a person does not have this fire (of divine love and affection), it is better for him to perish.”

Ismail Ankaravî (5), who is known as Hadrat ash-Sharih in Mawlawiyya, states that the great scholars such as Pas Suhrawardi, Najmuddin Daya, Ibn Farid, Abu Talib Makki, Kashani, Ghazali and Mawlana considered raqs and sama to be permissible and considered them as worship and virtue. (6) Accordingly, Mawlana performed sama, listened to the ney, but did not play the ney. The Mawlana Celebrations, which are held in Konya in December every year, are organized to spread Mawlana’s ideas and views and to announce to the world the dervish order (tariqah) founded in his name. As it is known, the Mawlawi order was founded by his son Sultan Walad. Sultan Walad is a son who lived as his father wished. Our wish is that Mawlawiyya should not be just a name and a form, and that the dervish order founded centuries ago should be continued in accordance with its original and spirit.

Footnotes:

1. Tasavvuf ve Tarikatler, p. 64.
2. Musnad, I/108.
3. Ihya, II/300.
4. Mesnevî-i Şerif, Manzum Nahîfî Translation, I/2.
5. Ankaravi, Minhajul-Fuqara, Bulak, 1256, pp. 60-76.
6. Ankaravi, Hujjatus-Sama (with Minhajul-Fuqara), Bulaq 1256, p. 4.

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