Why everything we list is vocals only

Every card and pack on this site has to meet our standard, and the first rule on it is the one parents ask us about most. Everything we list is vocals only. There are no instruments and no percussion, and that includes the daff.

Why we drew the line there

Muslim families hold a range of views on music. Some avoid instruments altogether, some are comfortable with the daff, and some are happy with more than that. We aren't scholars, and this post isn't a ruling on any of it.

What we could do was pick a line that works in as many homes as possible. If everything here is vocals only, a parent who avoids music can trust any card on the site without listening to it first, and a parent who doesn't avoid music loses nothing. A looser rule would have sent some families back to checking every card themselves. Saving them that job is the reason the site exists.

We did think about listing everything and tagging whatever has music. A tag only helps if you read it every time, though, and a tired parent scrolling at bedtime often won't. With one rule for everything, "checked against our standard" means the same on every page.

What counts as vocals only

Voices of any kind are fine: recitation, narration, nasheeds sung with voices alone, children repeating after a teacher. Sound effects in stories are fine too. Rain and footsteps help a story come alive, and they aren't music. What we leave out is any instrument, drums and the daff included, and backing tracks made to sound like instruments.

A few things sit close to the line, like a nasheed with layered humming underneath. We listen to those all the way through before deciding, and when we're unsure, we leave them out.

We do get things wrong sometimes. If you hear an instrument on anything we've listed, tell us and we'll listen again. And if you know a vocals-only card we're missing, we'd love to hear about it.