Islam and music

The relationship between Islam and music is considered to be more or less settled, but debate as to its permissibility still takes place. Many Muslims believe that the Qur'an and Sunnah prohibit music (instruments and singing); however, others believe that some forms of music are permissible. Even so, music existed in the Islamic world, although it was often confined to palaces and private homes to avoid censure.

In many parts of the Muslim world devotional/religious music and secular music is well developed. In recent decades, "the advent of a whole new generation of Muslim musicians who try to blend their work and faith", has given the issue "extra significance".

Historically, Islamic art and music flourished during the Islamic Golden Age, yet it continued to flourish until the 19th century in the Ottoman, Safavi, and Mughal Empires. Ottoman music in particular developed into a diverse form of art music. It influenced Western composers of the Classical period. Islamic music is also credited with influencing European and Western music; for example, French musicologist Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger in his assessment of the Abbasid Caliphate in Islamic history credits Abu Nasr Muhammad al-Farabi's Kitabu l'musiqi al-kabir ("The Great Book of Music") with this influence.