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Rihanna Sparks Rage for Using Hadith in Lingerie Show


Tue 06 Oct 2020 | 01:23 PM
Yara Sameh

On Friday, Barbadian singer Rihanna released the virtual runway show for her “Savage X Fenty 2” lingerie collection, which featured buzzy musical performances and carefully coordinated choreography.

However, some were struck by something beyond the show, which was using the song “Doom,” a track by musical producer Coucou Chloe that samples a hadith by Prophet Muhammad.

Hadiths are sacred texts in Islam that represent the traditions or sayings of the prophet Muhammad.

The hadith in the “Doom” audio, which appears to draw on the theme of judgment day in the hadith segment, has been attributed to Kuwaiti preacher Mishary bin Rashid Alafasy.

Muslims and non-Muslims alike took to social media to criticize Rihanna, accusing her of disrespecting Islam by using the sacred text in a sexualized context, some have noted that Rihanna had used "Doom" in a previous fashion show.

https://twitter.com/selenarules6/status/1312884413815033859?s=20

https://twitter.com/kookdice/status/1312887670016675840?s=20

https://twitter.com/crystaldise/status/1312865027926433797?s=20

https://twitter.com/sunnysidesire/status/1312911474147291137?s=20

https://twitter.com/kkeyis/status/1312891551777947649?s=20

Rihanna and Savage X Fenty have yet to comment on the show, however, Chloe addressed the ordeal on Monday, after a weekend of criticism on social media.

She apologized for the use of the samples and announcing that the song would be removed from all streaming platforms.

https://twitter.com/coucou_chloe/status/1313137644226908162?s=20

The latest controversy raises further concerns about Rihanna’s perceived use of Islam as an aesthetic, however, she is certainly not the first celebrity to abuse the Arabic or utilizes the Islamic phrases in music.

In 2018, Drake used “Inshallah” (God willing) in the song “Diplomatic Immunity”.