Dear Hadi,
Dear Reader,
You ask a very interesting question, and we’ll do our best to answer it, reminding you that in this column, we do not give fatwas, but just our opinions and advice on where you can go to get more information.
The question you posed is very broad. There are a variety of different possible scenarios – dancing alone in front of the mirror, dancing with other women, mixed dancing between men and women, folk-dancing such as at a wedding celebration, pre-school children dancing for fun or exercise in their classroom, etc.
Below is one answer to this question from a Muslim website:
“With regard to dancing, it is not permissible for women to dance in front of men, non-mahrams, mahrams or women, because of the fitnah that may be caused by the movements of the body. It is well known that women may feel desire for one another, and even if that is not the case, there is no guarantee that one of them will not go back to her menfolk and describe to them what she has seen of the beauty of the dancer and her movement, so this may affect the men and may cause a great deal of mischief. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade such things.
‘Abd-Allah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “No woman should look at another woman then describe her to her husband so that it is as if he can see her” (Narrated by al-Bukhari, 4839).”
As you can see, this particular answer makes dancing not permissible in almost all scenarios (in front of men, women, mahrams, non-mahrams, etc.).
With all due respect to the authors of that opinion, may God bless them and us, we do not agree with this approach. As we wrote in another column, “haram” is a big word, and we need to be very careful when using it. Our approach to all such questions is guided by the general principle of Islamic jurisprudence that the basic nature of things is that they are halal (allowed) unless explicitly prohibited. This is very well summarized by the eminent twentieth century scholar Yusuf Al-Qaradawi at the beginning of his book Al Halal wal Haram fil Islam (The Lawful and Prohibited in Islam). His first chapter heading is titled: “The Basic Asl’ (Principle) Refers to the Permissibility of Things” - in that chapter, he states: “The first asl, or principle, established by Islam is that the things which Allah (SWT) has created and the benefits derived from them are essentially for man’s use, and hence are permissible. Nothing is haram except what is prohibited by a sound and explicit nas (either a verse of the Quran or a clear, authentic, and explicit sunnah) from the Law-Giver. If the nas is not sound, as for example in the case of a weak hadith, or if it is not explicit in stating the prohibition, the original principle of permissibility applies.”
The issue of dancing is not explicitly mentioned in Quran or Hadith (to the best of our knowledge, and Allah SWT knows best), and so we cannot say the activity is haram in and of itself, regardless of context. Drinking, for example, is haram, and we do not need a context to make the judgement. The reasoning used in the fatwa above is that it might lead to desire even if women dance in front of women, or because a woman might describe another woman in front of her husband, who may then get excited, etc.
We find that this sort of reasoning is too indirect, and based on too many contingencies to make us comfortable with this approach.
Although not directly on point, we quote here the well-known incident where a group of Abyssinian visitors were putting on a show by playing with their spears in the mosque, and the Prophet (pbuh) was encouraging them, saying “Carry on, Bani Arfidah.” The Prophet asked his wife Aishah if she wanted to watch, and stayed with her watching until she got tired. We presume (but do not know for sure) that the Abyssinians were doing some sort of folk dancing or gymnastics with their spears, so some sort of body movement was clearly involved. Sheik Al-Qaradawi reports this incident, and quotes Imam al-Ghazzali in his monumental work, Ihya ulum al-Deen (where-in he was commenting on the permissibility of listening to singing) as saying: “All these ahadith are reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim in the two Sahihs, and they clearly prove that singing and playing are not haram.”
There is also the example of the whirling dervishes whose dances combine not only dance, but also music and prayer as part of a spiritual tradition that represents the soul’s journey toward God.
In short, we do not believe that dancing is haram in and of itself, but can become haram by association, such as when it leads to haram.
Our personal opinion on the matter is best exemplified by a story we heard about a scholar in early 20th century Egypt, who went to lecture a group of students at Al-Azhar University. Because of his reputation as a “reformer,” one of the conservative students wished to put him on the spot. This was at a time when cinema and movies had just been invented, and the student asked him “So, Sheik, tell us then, are movies halal or haram?” The Sheik calmly replied, “Son, halal movies are halal, and haram movies are haram.”
That is exactly how we feel about dancing, and we think that we all probably have a pretty good idea of what would be allowed and not allowed – e.g., men doing the dabka at a wedding probably ok, but men and women grinding and twerking at a night club, not so much. The rest is in between. To flesh that out a little more, let us quote a fatwa from another Islamic website, more in line with our approach:
“In this regard, Dr. Su`ad Salih, professor of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) at Al-Azhar University, states, Islam is a religion of moderation; it does not prevent singing and dancing, but it forbids anything that stimulates people’s desires, whether it be among men or women. Women are supposed to observe good manners if they dance in front of other women. They should not exceed the limits by doing anything that stimulates desires and incites evil. There are many cases where women are tempted by other women.
However, if a woman dances in front of her husband, then there is no restriction, as it is a way of cementing relations between spouses – and this a key pillar of establishing the Muslim family.
Moreover, Dr. Salim Ahmad Salamah, Dean of the Faculty of Usul Ad-Deen at the Islamic University, Gaza, adds:
It is permissible for women to dance and sing as long as there are no males around. In addition, the words of the song should be free from any foul words or vulgarity. Thus, as long as the words of the song are pure and clean and there are no males, there is nothing wrong in dancing.
By analogy, men are allowed to dance together as long as they cover their `awrah (the parts of the body between the navel and the knee) and there is no fear of temptation.
Men and women dancing together is absolutely haram in all cases, except when a wife dances in front of her husband. The reason behind this prohibition is that with mixed dancing bodily contact is close and improper sexual desires are aroused. This has been strictly forbidden by Islam in an attempt to block the way against evil. If men and women were permitted to dance together, a lot of haram acts could occur. That is why mixed dancing is not allowed.”
While we are reticent to use phrases like “absolutely haram,” this opinion is more aligned with our approach, namely that the content of the dance and the context of where it’s performed are important considerations. As with the question posed to the Sheikh about movies, we think the best answer to your question is that halal dancing is halal and haram dancing is haram.
In peace.