The ruling on singing, wailing, and dancing for women.

The Shaykh : In response to the previous question, we say that women singing at a wedding is permissible by Islamic law. We should also consider this singing to be an exception, similar to the exception of the hand drum from musical instruments. These instruments are originally forbidden, just as the hand drum was excepted from that prohibition, so too is the voice of a woman at a wedding excepted from the original prohibition against a woman raising her voice, especially with singing. This exception is established as permissible by Islamic law through two pieces of evidence. The first piece of evidence is the practice of the Salaf, which the Khalaf inherited from them. The second piece of evidence is some verbal hadiths from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), some of which are general, such as the hadith mentioned earlier: The announcement is made with the voice, and from this voice comes the beating of the hand drum and the singing of women. Likewise, what is the completion of the hadith? The voice is the voice, meaning the indication of singing by women. However, we have an explicit hadith that clarifies the two verbal hadiths mentioned earlier, which is what came in "al-Sunan" and "Musnad Imam Ahmad" that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) met Aisha one day as she was coming, and he asked her. She said, "It is a wedding of the Ansar." He said to her (peace and blessings be upon him): Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said, "What should we say, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: If this hadith is explicit that he (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted women to sing, but the singing that does not describe what is forbidden by Islamic law to be spoken, let alone sung. As you heard, it is clean, noble singing that contains nothing of describing cheeks and waists, or mentioning intoxicants, or similar things that usually occur in the singing of professional singers. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: So this is a principle in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) established the permissibility of women raising their voices with clean singing. Here we enter perhaps into the core of the answer regarding the specific mention of wailing in the question. Is it permissible? I say that if the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted women to sing phrases with meanings, and these meanings, although clean as we said, if they have an effect on the soul, then wailing has less effect on the soul because it has no understood meaning, and its purpose is very clear, which is the announcement commanded in the first hadith: Therefore, we see no harm in women raising their voices with permissible singing. This is supported by a hadith in "Mustadrak Abu Abdullah al-Hakim" that some of the Tabi'un saw a man from the Companions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)—I have forgotten his name now—sitting at a wedding while the women were singing. He disapproved of it because it involved listening to the voice, so he said, "If you wish, sit, and if you wish, leave. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) permitted us to sit at weddings," or as he said. With this, I think I have covered the answer to the question, if Allah wills.

The questioner : Singing collectively? Likewise, the mihahah.

The Shaykh : What is the mihahah?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : The same answer, but it is good that you do not imitate the women.

The questioner : Even if the men hear the women's voices?

The Shaykh : We did not say that, my brother.

The questioner : Dancing?

The Shaykh : We are left with dancing, indeed, dancing by women. As for women, there are undoubtedly various forms. First, it must be noted that dancing, whatever its type today, does not occur among women while they are wearing the Islamic dress that is permissible for a woman to wear before her Muslim sister, and I say before men. Tight clothes and short clothes are not permissible for a Muslim woman to display before her Muslim sister. If we assume—and I mean what I am saying, if we assume—that dancing by women is in Islamic clothes, we say that if it is not dancing that arouses desires, for example, shaking of the hips and the like, but rather gestures with loose, flowing hands that do not indicate anything, then there is nothing wrong with it, with the condition mentioned earlier regarding clothing. As for this undressing, displaying of the hips, and dancing of the breasts with the dancers, and the like, this is not what should be done, because it arouses desires, even among women for women. And with this...

The questioner : Singing collectively?

The Shaykh : Collectively.

The questioner : And these cosmetics that women put on in such occasions.

The Shaykh : It is not permissible.

The questioner : May Allah bless you. Not in these occasions, and not in...

The Shaykh : Absolutely not.