Comment on the Shaza channel and the ruling on subscribing to it
Question

What is your opinion about Shadha channel, which is one of the Al-majd channels. It requires monthly fees to be paid. It is a channel of Islamic nasheeds, and I want to sign up with them. I did not watch it yet. But I heard people saying: “it is haram”. My family is persisting on having it; as they love to listen to nasheeds.  
Please tell us your opinion about this channel, is it halal or haram?.
Praise be to Allah.Firstly: 
The Shaza channel is not one of the al-Majd channels, rather al-Majd markets itself through it. 
Secondly: 
Nasheed means words with a tune, and the ruling thereon is known if the words of the nasheed are known, and how it is performed, and whether it is accompanied by musical instruments or not. 
By studying the words of the scholars and trustworthy Shaykhs, we can compile a list of the guidelines and conditions which must be fulfilled in order for the nasheed to be permissible. These include the following: 
1-The words should be free of haraam and worthless content.
2-The nasheed should not be accompanied by musical instruments. No musical instruments are permissible except the daff for women on specific occasions.
3-It should be free of vocal effects that imitate the sound of musical instruments.
4-The nasheed should not be a habit for the listener, or waste his time, or affect his obligatory duties or mustahabb actions, such as affecting his reading of Qur’aan and calling people to Allaah.
5-The performer should not be a woman in front of men, or a man in front of women.
6-One should avoid listening to people with soft voices or who move rhythmically when performing, because all of that is fitnah and an imitation of immoral people.
7-One should avoid the images that are put on their cassette cases, and more importantly one should avoid showing them in video clips of their nasheeds, especially images of provocative movements and imitations of immoral singers.
8-The focus of the nasheed should be the words, not the tune.
These guidelines and scholarly comments on them have been explained in the answer to question no. 91142. 
Unfortunately we have to say that the Shaza channel does not pay attention to most of these conditions and guidelines, and its broadcasts are filled with all kinds and types of nasheed, even if it contains something that goes against sharee’ah. They showed a male nasheed group who were wearing a uniform and performing a dabkeh dance, whilst using vocal effects that sounded like musical instruments, and some of the nasheeds depicted wedding parties, and among the audience could be seen people who were smoking openly in front of people, and this was broadcast as though it was an Islamic nasheed. 
They also broadcast some of these nasheeds from festivals and celebrations in which could be heard clapping and whistling to encourage the singer and applaud him. As for some of them shaving their beards or cutting them too short, or letting their garments hang below their ankles, this happens a great deal. 
There is another serious issue related to these anaasheed, which is that women are attracted to these male singers. So you see them coming out wearing the finest clothes, or even wearing makeup! And the singers have started to put their pictures and cell phone numbers on the covers of their cassettes, like immoral singers. The fact that some women are attracted to these nasheed singers is something that cannot be denied, so heads of households who are responsible for their flocks should pay attention to this serious matter. 
Some of those who are in charge of this channel have tried to market it from a shar’i angle by giving prominence to Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez al-Fawzaan’s praise of them, but when the Shaykh found out what they are really like, and that it is not one of the al-Majd channels, and that it is only for nasheed – when he had been told that it belonged to al-Majd and was a youth channel – he recanted his praise for them and warned them not to publish it. 
Warnings against this channel have also been issued by the General Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez Aal al-Shaykh (may  Allaah preserve him). 
In a meeting with the Shaykh at ‘Asr on Thursday 13/9/1427 AH on the al-Majd channel, on its program called Ma’a Samaahat al-Mufti, he was asked about the Shaza nasheed channel and he replied: 
With regard to the Shaza channel which is for nasheed, I hope that the people in charge of al-Majd will close down this channel, because in fact they are nasheed which may include Sufi nasheeds, and they may contain melodious voices that could distract people from that which is better than that. Sufi styles and Sufi nasheeds and so on are things that were denounced by the scholars who said: This prevents the people from remembering Allaah, and it is singing, but they made it appear good by saying that it is Islamic nasheeds and prayer to Allaah and so on.  
What one should do is not introduce this channel. I do not watch it and I advise people to avoid it. I hope that those who founded it will fear Allaah and keep away from this channel and avoid supporting it or spending on it, and will not be tempted by it or by those who promote it or who try to find a justification for it, because it is no more than nasheed that distract people from that which is better for them. End quote. 
The veracity of what Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez Aal al-Shaykh (may Allaah preserve him) said is supported by the fact that it may include Sufi nasheeds: 
(a)The presence of prominent Sufis who take part in it, who are regarded as geniuses of nasheed by them
(b)A lot of songs about Madeenah, its inhabitants and the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
(c)Many Sufi expressions in a lot of their nasheeds, such as Mawlaya (my master), ya sanadi (my support), umarrigh al-khadd bi’l-i’taab (I rub my cheek on the threshold of your door), aghithni minka bi’l-madad (help me by your aid), and so on.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: 
I hope that you can explain in detail the issue of nasheeds, and the ruling on selling them. 
Shaykh: What nasheeds? 
Questioner: The Islamic nasheeds that are sold on recordings. 
He replied: I cannot give a ruling on them, because they vary, but I can give you a general guideline. 
1-If the nasheeds are accompanied by the daff, then they are haraam, because the daff is only permissible in a specific situation, not all the time. It is more forbidden if it is accompanied by music or tabl (drums other than the daff).
2-If it is free of those things, then we examine it further. Is it performed in the manner of immoral songs? This is also not permissible because  one soon finds that one gets used to this immoral manner of performance and enjoys it, and that may lead one to start listening to haraam kinds of songs.
3-If these nasheed are sung by young men with attractive voices, i.e., they could provoke desire, or a person may enjoy listening to the sound regardless of the content of the nasheed, then this is also not permissible.
But if the nasheeds speak of Islamic zeal and not as described above, then there is nothing wrong with them, but it is better to listen to Qur’aan rather than that, or to listen to a useful lecture, or to listen to a lesson by a scholar. This is better, as it will serve a religious purpose and also make it easy for a person, because a person may be travelling from Makkah to Madeenah, for example, and he needs something to keep him awake. 
Questioner: But what is the ruling on selling them? 
Shaykh: I will give you a guideline. Everything that it is haraam to use, it is also haraam to sell, because the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When Allaah forbids a people to eat something, He also forbids its price to them.” Narrated by Abu Dawood, and it is saheeh. 
Liqaa’aat al-Baab il-Maftooh (111/question 7). 
Shaykh Saalih ibn Fawzaan al-Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him). 
We do not deny that it is permissible to listen to nasheed that is free from haraam elements and to record it. But what we object to is the following: 
1.We object to calling it Islamic nasheeds
2.We object to listening to it so much that it leaves no room for things that are more beneficial
3.We object to putting it in religious programs, or doing it in unison, or in enchanting voices.
4.We object to recording it and offering it for sale, because this is a means of distracting people, and a means of introducing Sufi bid’ahs to the Muslims via these nasheeds, or a means of propagating nationalistic and partisan slogans also. End quote.
Bayaan li Akhta’ ba’d al-Kuttaab (p. 341). 
And Allaah knows best.