It is permissible for a wife to dance for her husband in the privacy of their room to provoke their desire. Elaborating on the issue of women dancing, Dr Su’ad Salih, professor of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) atAl-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 Usulud-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. Furthermore, no non-Muslim women should be attending, for the `awrah of a Muslim woman before them is the same as in the case of a man. Thus, as long as the words of the song are pure and clean and there are no males or non-Muslim women around, there is nothing wrong in dancing.
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.
Another important point that should be stressed here is that in all cases where there is dancing it must be accompanied by halal music.”