Answered by Shaykh Amjad Rasheed
Translated by Shaykh Hamza Karamali, SunniPath Academy Teacher
I want to know the ruling of dancing. If a group of women are in a place where there are no men, is it permissible for them to dance like women do in Indian movies and like corrupt women do in Western music videos? There is no doubt that such dances are lowly and evil. Wouldn’t they then be unlawful for women to do even if they are in a women-only gathering?
If dancing comprises takassur, it is forbidden for both men and women. Takassur means to fold the limbs of one’s body (such as the waist) in a manner that resembles what corrupt and shameless people do. As for if it does not comprise [h: takassur], it is permissible for both men and women, since it is mere movements of straightening and curving [h: one’s body and it is permitted to make such movements], and because he (Allah bless him and give him peace) approved of the Abyssinians doing it in his mosque on the day of Eid (narrated by Bukhari and Muslim) (Tuhfa, 10.221-222).
Amjad Rasheed
Amman, Jordan
(Translated by Hamza Karamali)