Is Starting Over (feat. Ben Bridwell) - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Halal or Haram?
Across the schools of thought analyzed, the highest verdict for "Starting Over (feat. Ben Bridwell) - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis" is Grey Area (3/5).
| School | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Sistani | Haram (1/5) |
| Khamenei | Grey Area (3/5) |
| Hanafi | Not yet analyzed — Hanafi's general music ruling |
| Maliki | Not yet analyzed — Maliki's general music ruling |
| Shafi'i | Not yet analyzed — Shafi'i's general music ruling |
| Hanbali | Not yet analyzed — Hanbali's general music ruling |
Is Starting Over (feat. Ben Bridwell) - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis halal according to Sistani?
Haram (1/5). Under Grand Ayatollah Sistani's jurisprudence, the decisive criterion is the Expert Recognition Test: whether the tune type is suitable for entertainment and amusement gatherings (majālis al-lahw wal-la'ib). Sistani explicitly rules in Book 46 (Q1) that emotional effects—such as whether a song soothes the nerves, arouses desires, or promotes moral contemplation—are completely irrelevant to the ruling.
Is Starting Over (feat. Ben Bridwell) - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis halal according to Khamenei?
Grey Area (3/5). Ayatollah Khamenei evaluates music through a 3-component test: (1) whether it is lahwī (keeping human beings away from Allah and driving toward sin and carelessness), (2) whether it is mutrib (producing intoxicating rapture/ecstasy) in combination with a lahwī character, and (3) whether it is suitable for gatherings of sin (majālis al-fisq wal-ma'āṣī). In his advanced jurisprudence course (Session 314, pp.
Each school’s full reasoning — the evidence cited, where the scholars differ, and how the score was reached — continues for members.
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How Islamic rulings on music work · Sistani's ruling · Khamenei's ruling · How scores are calculated
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