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"Muslim scholars
were able to quote from Bukhari and from the seerah to justify
the playing of musical instruments."
"What the [scholars]
did not want was Muslims to get too carried away with these musical
performances that begin to undermine their iman and their faith
in Islam."
"We must make
sure that we don't go to the extreme position of making [the
Prophet (S)] a one-dimensional man who was all the time very
grim and stern-faced, although there were moments when he was
like that."
"The Muslims must
always remember that they can have fun, but let them have fun
not in a 'dunyaistic' [overly indulgent] manner which negates
their Islam."
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Prophet
Muhammad (S) was the finest example and reflected within his
character the diversity of the human condition. He was not stern
all the 
time but, in fact,
was a man of good and pleasing disposition who smiled often.
Dr. Sulayman Nyang elaborates on this premise to convey the fact
that entertainment and recreation for Muslims is perfectly acceptable.
However, he stresses that the manner in which we entertain ourselves
must b
e modeled after the Prophet (S)
and that this must be done analytically with the proper understanding
of how to apply the sunnah to our circumstances today. This discussion
is very relevant for us today, as the speaker explains, because
of the 
difference in life-style from
the medieval period to the modern/post-modern period. Forms of
entertainment were very limited back then whereas now it is much
more widespread. The reality of living in modern America is that
leisure time and technology have made available
to us the most choices of entertainment at any time throughout
human history. Therefore, we must be aware that the hard-line
approach to this matter may not be the most beneficial for us
but rather a more balanced and 
practical application of the sunnah regarding
entertainment and recreation. Among the many interesting things
discussed in this lecture is the idea of music as a