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How to Break the Habit of Listening to Music in Islam
- Authors
- Name
- Ahmad
- Role
- Senior Marketing Manager, Islamic education β’ Deen Back
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In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
You have probably tried to stop before. Maybe you deleted your playlists for a week and then rebuilt them. Maybe you said "after Ramadan" or "after this exam" and then stayed exactly where you were.
The difficulty with music is not theological β you already know the position. The difficulty is that music is woven into every commute, every workout, every quiet hour at home. Quitting is not a single decision. It is redesigning what your ears do when they have nothing else to do.
This guide focuses on that redesign.
Why This Matters
The Quran describes the mechanism directly:
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"And of the people is he who buys lahw al-hadith to mislead from the way of Allah." β (Surah Luqman, 31:6)
Ibn Masud (may Allah be pleased with him) identified lahw al-hadith β idle, distracting speech β as music. The concern is not noise for its own sake. The concern is distraction from the remembrance of Allah β filling the spaces where remembrance could live with something that works against it.
The Prophet ο·Ί described the alternative:
"Verily, in the body there is a piece of flesh. If it is sound, the whole body is sound; and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. Verily, it is the heart." β (Sahih Bukhari 52)
What you regularly feed your ears shapes the state of the heart. Music that stirs emotions, brings back haram associations, or simply crowds out the remembrance of Allah is working on the heart in a specific direction. Quran recitation, dhikr, and Islamic content works on it in another direction. You are always building something with what you consume.
Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1 β Make the Decision and Delete the Playlists
Not "I will reduce gradually." Not "I will switch when I find good replacements." Delete the playlists now.
This feels dramatic. That is the point. The decisiveness of the action sends a message to the nafs: this is a real change, not an experiment.
If a complete deletion feels impossible, start with the most impactful: the playlists you play daily, the ones you know are most attached to haram associations or emotional states you are trying to move away from.
Step 2 β Build Your Replacement Library First
The key mistake people make when quitting music is leaving a void and then filling it with silence and discomfort. The better approach: build the replacement library before or during the quitting process.
Start with:
- Quran recitations: choose a reciter whose voice you genuinely love β Mishary Rashid, Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, Shaykh Maher Al-Muaiqly. Find a surah you can listen to for 20 minutes without wanting to stop.
- Islamic nasheeds (without instruments): there are large libraries of vocal-only nasheeds that carry the same emotional resonance as music for many people
- Islamic podcasts and lectures: for commutes and chores, lectures from scholars you find engaging fill the same time slots that music used to
The replacement has to be something you actually want to listen to β not just content you are forcing yourself to tolerate.
Step 3 β Identify Your Trigger Moments
You do not listen to music randomly. You listen in specific situations: commuting, working out, cooking, falling asleep, feeling a particular emotion. List your trigger moments.
For each trigger moment, assign a replacement:
- Commuting β Quran recitation
- Cooking β Islamic podcast
- Workout β Dhikr audio or motivational nasheed
- Falling asleep β Surah Al-Mulk recitation
The specificity matters. "I will listen to Islamic content instead" is vague. "When I start the car, I will play [this reciter] on [this app]" creates an automatic new routine.
Step 4 β Change Your Go-To Apps
If Spotify or Apple Music is on your home screen, it is one unconscious tap away from old habits. Move it off the home screen or delete it entirely.
Replace it with a Quran app (Quran.com, Ayat, Muslim Pro) or an Islamic podcast player in the same position. The friction of reaching for the old app versus the ease of the new one matters more than you would expect.
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Step 5 β Handle Social Situations Thoughtfully
Music plays in social environments β gatherings, restaurants, events. You cannot control all of it. What you can control:
- Leave environments where music is very loud and unavoidable when you have the option
- When you are in a place where music is playing, use it as an opportunity to practise internal state management β maintain your own remembrance quietly, make dhikr in your heart
- Be honest with close friends about your decision; most will respect it, and it creates accountability
Step 6 β Build Fajr and Morning Adhkar as Your Anchor
Starting the day with the Quran changes what your ears associate with the start of the day. Currently, many people whose first audio of the day is music have conditioned themselves to link "morning energy" with music. Replacing that first audio slot with Quran recitation or dhikr begins to build the new association.
This takes about two to three weeks to feel natural. Push through the awkwardness.
Step 7 β Track the Habit
When you track something, you see your progress. Seeing progress is motivating. Without tracking, it is easy to feel like you are failing even when you are not.
Mark each clean day β a day where you made the active choice not to listen to music. After 30 days, the replacement habit is becoming established. After 60 days, most people find the pull of music has significantly reduced.
Making It Stick β The Habit Science
The Prophet ο·Ί said:
"The most beloved of deeds to Allah are those done consistently, even if they are small." β (Sahih Bukhari 6464)
Consistency beats intensity. You do not need to make a dramatic leap into hours of Quran every day. You need to make the consistent choice to reach for Quran or dhikr instead of music in the moments you used to reach for music.
Start with just one trigger moment replaced. Master that, then replace the next. Build incrementally.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Going cold turkey without replacement content. The absence of music leaves a sensory void that is very difficult to maintain. The replacement needs to be ready before or during the quitting process.
Keeping music for "special occasions" indefinitely. Special occasions turn into regular occasions very quickly. The habit needs a clean boundary.
Giving up after a bad day. Music has emotional associations. A stressful day, a moment of sadness β the pull to return to familiar music will be strong. Make the tawbah and return to the plan. One slip is not a failure.
Making it about willpower alone. Change the apps, change the playlists, change the defaults. Make the right choice easy and the wrong choice requires deliberate effort.
Common Questions
What about Islamic nasheeds with instruments β are they allowed? Scholars differ. A cautious approach is to focus on vocal-only nasheeds, which have broad scholarly acceptance, while you are building the new habit. This is not a permanent ruling for you to live by forever β it is a practical choice during the transition.
My family listens to music at home. How do I cope? Use headphones and your own replacement content. This situation is different from actively choosing music β you are managing an environment you do not fully control. The habit you are breaking is your own active choice, not incidental exposure.
Will I ever stop missing it? The specific songs you associate with emotions and memories will have some pull for a while. But the habit of reaching for music when you want audio input will weaken significantly over a few months. Many people who have made this change say that after six months, they genuinely prefer Quran and good Islamic content to music.
Also see how to avoid listening to music in Islam for complementary guidance, and dua for self-control for duas that support this transition.
Closing β Start With the Next Trigger Moment
You are not making a lifetime decision right now. You are making one decision about the next commute, the next cooking session, the next hour at your desk. Make that one decision differently.
Build the replacement library. Change the default. Track the days.
Build the Audio Habit That Serves You
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is all music haram in Islam?
The majority of classical scholars consider music with instruments haram, with a narrow exception for the duff (hand drum) in certain celebrations. However, the debate exists. What most agree on is that music that stirs desire, promotes immorality, or distracts from worship is clearly problematic.
Why is music so hard to quit compared to other habits?
Music is embedded in the environment in a way most habits are not. It plays in shops, in cars, through other people's devices. It also carries emotional associations β certain songs tied to memories, moods, and identities. Quitting requires both internal decision and external restructuring.
What do I listen to instead?
Quran recitation, Islamic nasheeds (without instruments), dhikr audio, Islamic lectures, and podcasts. The goal is not silence β it is replacing one audio habit with another that serves your spiritual state rather than working against it.
What if I cannot avoid music in public spaces?
Incidental exposure in public β shops, transport β is different from deliberately seeking it out. The habit to break is the active choice to listen. You cannot always control the environment; you can control your own choices within it.
How long does it take to stop missing music?
Most people find the craving peaks in the first two to three weeks and then decreases significantly if they have found quality replacements. The emotional associations take longer to fade, but they do fade as new associations are built with replacement content.