Halalify Ratings Guide
Halalify returns a per-school verdict for every analyzed song on a 1–5 scale. This guide explains what each score means and how the two major scoring frameworks — Sistani's entertainment-gatherings test and Khamenei's lahwi assessment — map onto the scale.
The 1–5 Verdict Scale
Each school of thought analyzed by Halalify returns a score from 1 to 5:
| Score | Label | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Clearly Halal | The song passes the school's criteria without qualification. |
| 4 | Likely Halal | Permissible under the school's framework with minor considerations. |
| 3 | Grey Area | Borderline — the school's criteria point in conflicting directions. Consult a scholar. |
| 2 | Likely Haram | Problematic under the school's framework; most scholars of that tradition would advise against it. |
| 1 | Clearly Haram | Clearly prohibited under the school's documented rulings — explicit haram content or tunes. |
A score of 3 (Grey Area) does not mean "probably fine" — it means the analysis found genuine ambiguity and a qualified scholar should be consulted for a personal ruling.
Sistani's Entertainment-Gatherings Test
For the Sistani school, Halalify applies the single criterion from A Code of Practice for Muslims in the West (Book 46, §2071): is the music suitable for entertainment and amusement gatherings? A score of 4–5 means the tune is not of that type; 1–2 means it clearly is; 3 means it is borderline. Lyrics do not affect the Sistani score — even religious content sung in entertainment-style tunes is analyzed as haram under his framework. Full explanation of Sistani's ruling →
Khamenei's Lahwi Assessment
For the Khamenei school, Halalify applies the lahwi framework from his Official Jurisprudence Q&A (nos. 1121–1153): does the music keep people away from God and drive them toward sinful acts or carelessness? A score of 4–5 means the music does not meet the lahwi threshold; 1–2 means it clearly does; 3 means the analysis found borderline characteristics. Khamenei's grey-area default (Q1133: ambiguous sounds are permissible) is factored in. Full explanation of Khamenei's ruling →
How the Four Sunni Madhab Scores Work
For the Sunni schools, scores track each madhab's documented rulings on instruments, singing, and lyrical content rather than a single per-song test. Because the Hanafi and Hanbali schools prohibit most instruments outside the duff, instrumental tracks tend to score low under them regardless of lyrics. Where a school has documented internal diversity, Halalify scores each documented position separately instead of merging them into one madhab verdict: the Maliki spectrum appears as Maliki-Strict, Maliki-Moderate, and Maliki-Permissive (tracing Al-Qurtubi through Ibn al-Arabi), and the Shafi'i school appears as Shafii-Mainstream (al-Nawawi's position) and Shafii-Ghazali (al-Ghazali's contextual framework). The criteria behind each score are laid out in the dedicated ruling guides: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali.
Why Scores Differ Between Schools
The same song can receive different scores from different schools because each school applies a different analytical framework. A track may score 5 (Clearly Halal) under Khamenei's lahwi test — because it doesn't draw people away from God — and 2 (Likely Haram) under Sistani's test — because its tune is of the entertainment-gathering type. Neither result is wrong; they reflect different jurisprudential methodologies. Overview of how all schools approach music →
A live example: Battle of Hunain (vocals & daff only) scores 5/5 under Sistani and Khamenei but 2/5 under Hanafi and Hanbali — the duff-only arrangement passes the Shia per-song tests while still falling under the stricter madhabs' instrument rules. Browse all analyzed songs →
Check a specific song
Halalify analyzes any song against each of these schools and returns a per-school verdict with the reasoning behind it.
Frequently asked questions
What does a score of 3 (Grey Area) mean?
A score of 3 means Halalify found genuine ambiguity in applying the school's criteria to the song. It does not mean the song is probably fine or probably prohibited — it means the analysis could not reach a confident verdict in either direction. What ambiguity looks like depends on the framework: under Sistani's test, a 3 usually means the tune sits on the borderline of the entertainment-gatherings category that informed listeners would recognize; under Khamenei's framework, it means the track shows borderline lahwi characteristics, with his grey-area default (Q1133: genuinely ambiguous sounds are permissible) factored into the reasoning; under the Sunni madhabs, it typically reflects mixed markers — for example, permissible lyrics over instrumentation whose classification the school's scholars contest. A Grey Area score is not a hedge. It means the primary-source criteria genuinely produce an ambiguous result for that specific song, so read the full reasoning and consult a qualified scholar of the relevant tradition for a personal ruling.
Can a song be Halal under one school and Haram under another?
Yes — this is common and expected. Each school applies a distinct analytical framework, so verdicts differ. Ayatollah Sistani applies a convention-based entertainment-gatherings test focused on the type of tune; Ayatollah Khamenei applies a spiritual lahwi test focused on whether the music keeps people from God. The four Sunni madhabs each have their own criteria. A song that passes Khamenei's lahwi threshold may still fail Sistani's entertainment-gatherings test. Halalify displays all school verdicts side by side so you can apply the one relevant to your tradition.
Which score does the song page summary show when schools disagree?
The headline verdict on a song's page and its share card reflect the highest score any analyzed school gave that song — the most permissive documented position. The full per-school table below it always shows every school's individual verdict, so a song summarized as Grey Area (3/5) may still be Clearly Haram (1/5) under a stricter school shown in the same table. The summary is a starting point, not a merged ruling: schools are not averaged into a single answer, because a Sistani follower and a Hanafi follower are asking different jurisprudential questions. Always read the row for the school or scholar you actually follow.
Halalify Music is an educational tool, not a fatwa service. It summarizes documented scholarly positions and is not a substitute for consulting a qualified Islamic scholar for a personal ruling.
