The Ruling on Men Clapping
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The Shaykh (may Allah grant you success) said: What is your opinion on clapping, specifically among men, after lectures or after what is called the depiction of Islam? We have heard from some that there is no harm in clapping if it is not accompanied by Islam.
Answer:
This statement is wrong. The one who said this statement, that there is no harm in clapping by men if it is not accompanied by worship, is wrong, and its wrongness is clear in this. Clapping by men is not permissible for two reasons. First, it involves imitating the disbelievers, and what is in[Al-Anfal 8:35] and affirmation. So if this is not permissible in worship, then it is even less permissible in other matters. It is a custom of the disbelievers, and it is not permissible for us to imitate the disbelievers.
Second, clapping is a custom of women. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan an-Nasa'i 1183Sahih (Darussalam) Sahih Ibn Hibban 10:556, and he specified clapping for women. A man imitating a woman incurs the curse, Mishkat al-Masabih 4429. So it is not permissible for men to clap, ever, because it involves imitating the pre-Islamic age of ignorance and imitating women, and it is not the custom of bearded men.
The Shaykh (may Allah grant you success) said: What is your opinion on clapping, specifically among men, after lectures or after what is called the depiction of Islam? We have heard from some that there is no harm in clapping if it is not accompanied by Islam.
Answer:
This statement is wrong. The one who said this statement, that there is no harm in clapping by men if it is not accompanied by worship, is wrong, and its wrongness is clear in this. Clapping by men is not permissible for two reasons. First, it involves imitating the disbelievers, and what is in
their prayer at the House was not except whistling
كَانَ صَلَاتُهُمْ عِندَ الْبَيْتِ إِلَّا مُكَاءًSecond, clapping is a custom of women. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
If you notice something when you are praying
إذا نابكم شيء في صلاتكمLet the men say the takbir and let the women clap.
فليسبح الرجال ولتصفق النساءthe Prophet as saying, “God has cursed men who imitate women and women who imitate men.”
قال صلى الله عليه وسلم لعن الله المتشبهين من الرجال بالنساء، ولعن الله المتشبهات من النساء بالرجال
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 1 — youtube.com (1:26:37)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.