A couple of days ago, Reuters carried an interesting story about a prominent Saudi cleric - Sheikh Abdul-Mohsen al-Obaikan - who has publicly attacked religious hardliners who were critical of a video showing him performing a Bedouin sword dance at a wedding. In remarks published in the Asharq Alawsat newspaper, the Sheikh said that Saudi society had to "get over restrictions imposed by ignorant people". Hardliners "want to turn our weddings into funerals and joy to sadness". Furthermore, complains the Sheikh, there is no report from the Prophet - or any other early Islamic leader - that weddings are an appropriate forum for preaching. You can read more from the Sheikh here.
I personally find the idea of a world devoid of dancing and music to be deeply depressing. For most people in Britain, the idea that music could be considered immoral or illegal is farcical. Yet for centuries, the legality of music has been hotly debated by Islamic jurists. A few years ago I was involved in a heated discussion with a Bangladeshi friend about the permissibility of music and dancing. Despite my best efforts, he stuck to his belief that listening to music and dancing was one step too far down the slippery slope to hell. I had a class so had to end the argument, but asked if I could call him later that evening around six thirty to continue our discussion. He asked if I could call at seven, because he would be watching Star Trek at six thirty. I had to laugh - a world where Star Trek is legal but music and dancing are not is a strange place indeed!
Yet the views held by my Bangladeshi friend are not uncommon. I have met many Muslims over the years - although by no means a majority - who avoid dancing and listening to music. It is not hard to find the origins of such views. Popular works of Islamic law from famous contemporary scholars often talk about dancing in negative terms. For example, Yusuf Al-Qaradawi - notorious friend of Ken Livingston - in The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam (Al-Halal Wal Haram Fil Islam) in a section on 'dancing and other erotic arts' states:
Islam does not permit sexually exciting dancing or any other erotic activity, such as suggestive or obscene songs, provocative dramas, and every type of rubbish which some people today term "art" and "progress."
The justification for this prohibition is the Qur'anic verse: "And do not come near zina [fornication and adultery]; indeed, it is an abomination and an evil way" (17:32). Provocative dances and songs bring one close to zina and hence are forbidden. In Nuh Ha Mim Keller's popular translation of Ibn Naqib al-Misri's Reliance of the Traveller it states that dancing is forbidden if it is languid - 'like the movements of the effeminate'. However, it cites a hadith related in Bukhari and Muslim that the Prophet stood before his wife Aisha to screen her from view so she could watch some Abyssinians dancing in the mosque.
The fact that the Prophet did not stop the dancing proves that dancing is not in itself illegal. This can be illustrated by the importance of dance to certain sufi orders. In Book XVIII of the Alchemy of Happiness, Al-Ghazzali discusses the permissibility of listening to music and the rules of conduct for the 'whirling dance' of the dervishes. Firstly, the dance must be conducted at the appropriate time. For example, it cannot be conducted during prayer time. Secondly the dance must be conducted at the appropriate place - a place where the surroundings will not distract the dancer. Thirdly, the dance must only be conducted in the presence of other devotees, and never in the presence of women - so as to avoid heating up the fire of carnal appetite.
The following fatwa was issued recently in response to an enquiry from a French female Muslim about the permissibility of Bhangra dancing. The opinions expressed in it are authoritative and are worth quoting in full. For example, Dr Su'ad Salih - professor of fiqh at Al-Azhar University in Cairo - states that:
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 [is] a key pillar of establishing the Muslim family.
In a similar vein, Dr Salim Ahmad Salamah - dean of the faculty of usul ad-deen at the Islamic University Gaza - argues that:
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. this is why mixed dancing is not allowed.
It is important to note that none of the scholars quoted and discussed above advocate a blanket ban on dancing. While I detest the homophobic sentiments expressed, and find many of the conditions imposed on dancing highly restrictive, I do share some concerns with the scholars. For example, I do sympathize with Muslims who are repulsed by the pornographic nature of modern pop culture - there is something deeply wrong when young girls start idolizing pop stars who dress and dance like strippers in their videos.
Overall, I find the negative attitude towards dancing expressed by some Muslims to be depressing for a number of reasons. Firstly, there is no explicit - or implicit - prohibition of dancing in the Qur'an or the hadith. The hardliners who criticized Sheikh Abdul-Mohsen al-Obaikan for dancing at a wedding have no legal justification for their views at all. The Sheikh was filmed performing a non-sexually provocative dance in front of an all male audience - he did not transgress any of the traditional restrictions placed on dancing. Secondly, those who argue that dancing between men and women will lead to zina seem to assume that men and women are creatures with absolutely no self-control who are slaves to uncontrollable sexual passions. Personally, I believe that most people have a high degree of self-control, and that to prohibit actions because they have the potential to lead to zina establishes a dangerous precedent - rather like preemptive attacks in international law.
No comments:
Post a Comment