The argument for listening to singing

Question

A person says that listening to singing is permissible, and as evidence he cites this noble hadith: once some girls were singing in the house of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he ﷺ was listening. Meanwhile Hazrat Abu Bakr al-Siddiq ﵁ passed by and said, “A satanic deed is being done in the house of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ!” At this the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “O Abu Bakr, leave them as they are.” So we request you to tell us: what answer should we give this person?

Answer

If little girls recite something in a sing-song manner, who are not acquainted with the rules of singing — the modes of Indian music and the like — towards whom no one has desire, and who are not yet of an age requiring hijab, then to draw an analogy (qiyas)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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