Is the Kurdish and Turkish Wedding Dance Permissible?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Are Kurdish wedding dance (Helperkê or Govend) and Turkish wedding dance (Halay) permissible in Islam? What do Quran and Sunna say about this?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health.
Any type of dancing done in front of marriageable kin (ghayr mahram) is impermissible, especially with music, even more severe. [al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya; al-Muhit al-Burhani; Khadimi, Bariqa Mahmudiyya]
As for dancing between a husband and wife, in private, that is not like the dancing of the corrupt and associated with any immoral type, would be allowed.
Rejoice with Other Ways
There are many other ways to show physical happiness, along with emotional. Why not invite a traditional group of nasheed, devotional songs, and ode (qasida) artists to uplift an entire gathering in praise of Allah, his Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), and all the various aspects of any happy occasion? This can also uplift us physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Related:
Dancing in Private For One’s Spouse
Nasheed Archives
Nasheed Hub: Ya Sa’da Qawm
Qasida of Praise (Lakal Hamd) – Recited by Ustadth Usama Canon
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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
