the appearance of musical instruments and amusements. Sa'id (59) said: Faraj ibn Fadalah narrated to us, from Ali ibn Yazid, from al-Qasim, from Abu Umamah, who said: The Messenger of God (peace and blessings of God be upon him) said: "Indeed, God has sent me as a mercy to the worlds and has commanded me to eradicate musical instruments and flutes. It is not permissible to sell them, nor to purchase them, nor to teach them, nor to trade in them, and their price is unlawful (60)." This refers to the performers. Nafi' narrated, saying: Ibn Umar heard a flute. He placed his fingers in his ears and moved away from the road, and said to me: "O Nafi', do you hear anything?" I said: "No." He then removed his fingers from his ears and said: "I was with the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him), and he heard something like this, so he did the same." It was recorded by al-Khallal in his "Jami'" through two chains of transmission, and it was recorded by Abu Dawud in his "Sunan" (61), who said: "It is an odd (munkar) hadith." A group (62) has used this report as evidence for the permissibility of the flute, arguing that if it were forbidden, the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him) would have prevented Ibn Umar from hearing it, Ibn Umar would have prevented Nafi' from hearing it (63), and he would have rebuked the flautist for it. We say: As for the first point, it is not sound; for what is forbidden is actively listening (istima') to them, not merely hearing (sama') them, and listening is different from hearing. For this reason, jurists have distinguished in the prostration of recitation between the hearer and the listener, and they have not made it obligatory for one who hears something (64) forbidden to plug his ears. God Almighty says: "And when they hear vain talk, they turn away from it" (65). He did not say: "Plug your ears." The listener is the one who intends to hear, and this was not the case with Ibn Umar; rather, only hearing occurred from him. Furthermore, the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him) had a need to know that the sound had ceased for him, because he had deviated from the path and plugged his ears, so he would not have returned to the path, nor removed his fingers from his ears, until the sound had ceased for him, so it was permissible out of necessity. As for [the lack of] rebuke, perhaps it was at the beginning of the Hijrah, when rebuke was not yet mandatory, or before it was possible to rebuke due to the abundance of disbelievers and the fewness of the people of Islam. If it is said: "Then this report is weak," for Abu