3-minute preview · Hear the full audiobook in the app.
Adam is our opening voice — more natural narrators arriving in the app, insha'Allah.
What is Book 18 of the Iḥyāʾ?
Book 18 of Imam al-Ghazālī's Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn is The Book of Listening and Ecstasy, the Book of the Etiquette of Hearing and Ecstasy. It is the eighth book of the quarter on Norms of Daily Life. Imam al-Ghazālī wrote in the 11th to 12th century. The book answers a disputed question: is it permissible to listen to song, melody, and poetry, and what does such listening do to the heart? Al-Ghazālī takes the dispute seriously, sets out the reasons for prohibition, and then marks out the kinds of listening that are permitted and the states they can bring about.
The book moves from the law to the heart. Chapter 1 covers the dispute over permissibility, the three reasons for prohibition, and permitted listening: for pilgrims, for warriors, and in war chants, in lamentation, in times of joy, and for one who loves Allah. Chapter 2 is on the effects of listening on the heart, including the fourth state, oblivious to all but Allah, what can be expressed and what cannot, and how melody moves the soul. A later chapter treats movement and ecstasy, and the book closes with the five etiquettes of listening.
It opens with praise of Allah, who has ignited the hearts of His allies with the fire of His love. For such people, al-Ghazālī writes, if their eyes behold an image, their insight passes on to the Creator, and if sounds echo in their ears, their innermost secrets go ahead of them to the Beloved. Whatever disturbs or pleases them, it is for Him alone. The reader is asked to hear with that kind of heart in mind.
Is there an English audiobook of The Book of Listening and Ecstasy?
Yes. Joyful Muslims publishes the complete Book 18: The Book of Listening and Ecstasy as an English audiobook (about 2.5 hours), translated from the Arabic, with a word-synced bilingual transcript. It explores the spiritual dimensions of listening to music and poetry, the conditions under which sama' is permissible, and the ecstatic states that arise from devotional listening.
Is it free to listen?
The whole library is open to everyone. Every member gets five hours of listening free each month; Joyful+ removes the time limit.
What does it cover?
The dispute over permissibility and the three reasons for prohibition, the kinds of listening that are permitted, the effects of listening on the heart, movement and ecstasy, and the five etiquettes of listening.
Last updated 2026-09-11
Inside the book.
Chapters
Word-synced with the narrator.
The first three minutes are transcribed here. In the app, the Living Manuscript scrolls through the entire book in rhythm with the audio — Arabic alongside English.
Living Manuscript
Listen to the full book in the app for the complete Living Manuscript.
The full, word-synced transcript in Arabic and English is in the app.
