The great scholar Ibn AlQayyim (may Allah be merciful with him) commented on the Ayah (Qur'anic verse) quoted above that reads:
And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks (i.e. music, singing, etc.)
saying good words, going in line with what we mentioned earlier. Following is a statement of his words: AlWahidy and others said: most Mufassirs (exegetes of the Qur'an) view that idle talk refers to singing. It was the view of Ibn `Abbas as reported by Sa`id ibn Jubayr and Muqsim from him. It was also the view of `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud as reported by Abu AlSahba' from him. In addition, it was the view of Mujahid and `Ikrimah.
Thuwayr ibn Abu Fakhitah reported from his father on the authority of Ibn `Abbas commenting on the Ayah And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks (i.e. music, singing, etc.) "It refers to a man who buys a slavegirl to sing for him whether in the day or at night."
Ibn Abu Najih reported Mujahid as saying, "It means buying a male or female singer for a large sum of money in order to listen to them or suchlike falsehood." This is also the view of Makhul and the opinion of Abu Ishaq as well as he said, "Most opinions
on explaining idle talk are to the effect that it is singing as it diverts from Dhikr (Remembrance of Allah)." Besides, AlWahidy said: Scholars of rhetoric are of the opinion that under this category comes all those who give idle talk, singing, tambourines and musical instruments as a preference over the Qur'an.
Whoever listens to a songstress will have molten lead poured into his ears on the Day of the Resurrection.
Do not sell singing slave women, do not buy them and do not teach them. There is nothing good in this trade, and their price is unlawful
Abu Abdullah said the following under the chapter on Tafsir (exegesis of the meanings of the Qur'an) of his book AlMustadrak: A student in this field should know that the explanation of a Companion who witnessed the revelation of the Qur'an is, according to Al Bukhari and Muslim, tantamount to a Hadith Musnad (a Hadith with a sound chain of narration).
Therefore, Ibn `Abbas Said, "Idle talk means falsehood and singing." In fact, some Companions explained it to be the former, others explained it to mean the latter while others explained it to refer to both of them. Undoubtedly, singing is more idle and harmful than kings stories and events as it is the spell of adultery, origin of hypocrisy, Satan's trap and the mind's intoxicant.
songs over listening to the Qur'an, in the sense that if they are given the option whether to listen to the Qur'an or to songs they will choose the latter and will find themselves unwilling to listen to the Qur'an. Moreover, they might tend to stop the reciter of the Qur'an feeling that they have heard too much. While on listening to a singer, they might ask the singer to sing more feeling that they have not heard enough. The least judgment then deserved by such a person is that they have their good share of, if not all of, dispraise.