When Allah intends to punish or destroy a people an interesting phenomenon (or Sunnah of the Lord), that typically went with that, seems to be:
Jeremiah 7:34: “34 I will put an end to the happy singing and laughter in the streets of Jerusalem. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard in the towns of Judah. The land will lie in complete desolation.”
Isaiah 24:7: “7 All the joys of life will be gone. The grape harvest will fail, and there will be no wine. The merrymakers will sigh and mourn.”
Jeremiah 16:9: “For the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: In your own lifetime, before your very eyes, I will put an end to the happy singing and laughter in this land. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard.”
Jeremiah 25:10: “I will take away your happy singing and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard. Your businesses will fail, and all your homes will stand silent and dark.”
Isaiah 16:10: “Gone now is the gladness; gone is the joy of harvest. The happy singing in the vineyards will be heard no more. The treading out of grapes in the winepresses has ceased forever. I have ended all their harvest joys.”
This was/is apparently a sunnah of Allah that is not limited just to the Israelites, but is something that Allah practiced with the neighboring nations, as well. The question becomes do I wish to see something like this...or, more accurately, do I wish to have this misfortune befall myself. The answer is an emphatic, “No.”. Thus, it becomes necessary to approach Allah (swt) for forgiveness and protection from such a day. The next question becomes, “Why is it that wine makes for merriment? And is it necessary any more to find merriment through wine?” What I have left out above are the wrongs that the Israelites had done to make themselves worthy of this misfortune. This loss of laughter and singing is, obviously, viewed in light of why the Prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah had been sent and the collective charges that were brought against the Israelites, by Allah through these Prophets. "The dhikr (singing or celebration of His Praises and the glorification of Him) of Allah is the Greatest thing in life." ~ Holy Quran. Some branches of Islam have placed a prohibition on music (they do not find joy through it anymore, but, they delight in the Word of God), however, some like myself take a moderate view on music...too much of it is hell, but, a measure of it is pleasureble, still yet, others listen to as much music as they want in Islam. There is an absolute prohibition on the consumption of alcohol and intoxicant-drugs in Al-Islam. The only wine that is permissable is the wine of Paradise. There is obviously more that can be said about excesses, over-indulgences, addictions, etc. in song and wine and laughter, which I did not mention here.
Contrast this with:
Isaiah 61:10: “10 I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels.”
Isaiah 62:5: “5 Your children will care for you with joy, O Jerusalem, just as a young man cares for his bride. Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.” (Keep in mind that Masjidul Aqsa which is one of Islam's holiest sites is in Jerusalem, also.)
Jeremiah 7:34: “34 I will put an end to the happy singing and laughter in the streets of Jerusalem. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard in the towns of Judah. The land will lie in complete desolation.”
Isaiah 24:7: “7 All the joys of life will be gone. The grape harvest will fail, and there will be no wine. The merrymakers will sigh and mourn.”
Jeremiah 16:9: “For the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: In your own lifetime, before your very eyes, I will put an end to the happy singing and laughter in this land. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard.”
Jeremiah 25:10: “I will take away your happy singing and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard. Your businesses will fail, and all your homes will stand silent and dark.”
Isaiah 16:10: “Gone now is the gladness; gone is the joy of harvest. The happy singing in the vineyards will be heard no more. The treading out of grapes in the winepresses has ceased forever. I have ended all their harvest joys.”
This was/is apparently a sunnah of Allah that is not limited just to the Israelites, but is something that Allah practiced with the neighboring nations, as well. The question becomes do I wish to see something like this...or, more accurately, do I wish to have this misfortune befall myself. The answer is an emphatic, “No.”. Thus, it becomes necessary to approach Allah (swt) for forgiveness and protection from such a day. The next question becomes, “Why is it that wine makes for merriment? And is it necessary any more to find merriment through wine?” What I have left out above are the wrongs that the Israelites had done to make themselves worthy of this misfortune. This loss of laughter and singing is, obviously, viewed in light of why the Prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah had been sent and the collective charges that were brought against the Israelites, by Allah through these Prophets. "The dhikr (singing or celebration of His Praises and the glorification of Him) of Allah is the Greatest thing in life." ~ Holy Quran. Some branches of Islam have placed a prohibition on music (they do not find joy through it anymore, but, they delight in the Word of God), however, some like myself take a moderate view on music...too much of it is hell, but, a measure of it is pleasureble, still yet, others listen to as much music as they want in Islam. There is an absolute prohibition on the consumption of alcohol and intoxicant-drugs in Al-Islam. The only wine that is permissable is the wine of Paradise. There is obviously more that can be said about excesses, over-indulgences, addictions, etc. in song and wine and laughter, which I did not mention here.
Contrast this with:
Isaiah 61:10: “10 I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels.”
Isaiah 62:5: “5 Your children will care for you with joy, O Jerusalem, just as a young man cares for his bride. Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.” (Keep in mind that Masjidul Aqsa which is one of Islam's holiest sites is in Jerusalem, also.)
To continue along the lines of the above mentioned about whether it is necessary, anymore, to find joy through wine...the same question can be asked as to whether it is necessary to derive joy through singing. I would deduce from this that they were singing the praises of Allah (swt) in the true form of this picture...but, just as with today there were poets and lyricists that may have taken the subject of song compositions away from the praises and glorification of Allah (swt). Joy is found in the Words of God and through the remembrance of Him and His (swt) many names.
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