The dichotomy of prohibition and acceptance of music in the Ghaznavid period

Abstract One of the important cultural issues after the domination of Islam is the attitude to music. In the analyses carried out by Islamic scholars, the use of music was distinguished into two permitted and non-permitted flows. As a result of the use of illegal music, two discourses of sanctions and acceptance were formed, which were qualitatively and quantitatively different. In the Ghaznavid dynasty, these two discourses were manifested in a special way, the limits of which is the main issue of this article. The qualitative research method is based on the description and analysis of content and the method of collecting its sources is library. According to the findings, music in itself was not considered forbidden, and non-musical factors such as the text of poetry, dance, drinking wine were the main causes of music prohibition. Except for exceptional cases, the courtiers were more inclined to acceptance of music, but the discourse of prohibition prevailed in the society. The mentioned cases and the dependence of musicians on the court led to the acceptance of some norms that were far from prohibitions. Court musicians felt more freedom to perform these norms in private places, and this connection could be beneficial to the actors of places that did not set limits for prohibitions.