You may have heard that listening to music and dancing during Ramadan is forbidden and causes the fast to be invalid. Stay with Saad News for more on this topic.
Listening to Music and Dancing During Ramadan
Ramadan, or Ramadan al-Mubarak, is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, during which fasting is obligatory for Muslims. Observing fasting and worship during this month is considered an integral part of the identity of Muslims worldwide. Ramadan is the only month mentioned by name in the Quran. This month holds great respect and significance among Muslims, and they dedicate themselves to acts of worship during it. Various supplications and acts of worship are narrated for this month. Some of the most important practices include reciting the Quran, reviving the nights of Laylat al-Qadr, making du'a (supplications), offering prayers, seeking forgiveness, providing iftar (fast-breaking meals), and helping those in need. Imam Ali (A.S.), the first Shiite Imam, was martyred on the 21st of Ramadan, while Imam Hassan (A.S.) was born on the 15th of this month in the 3rd year of the Islamic calendar.
Listening to music associated with gatherings of amusement and sin is forbidden, whether it occurs during Ramadan or outside of it. However, listening to music that does not fall into this category is not an issue, whether in Ramadan or outside of it. Determining whether music falls into one category or the other depends on common perception.
Music is divided into two categories:
Music that, according to common understanding, is considered playful and fits gatherings of amusement, revelry, and indulgence. This type of music is forbidden, regardless of whether it is classical or traditional.
Non-entertainment music that does not provoke lustful excitement. This type of music is not forbidden.
If the music is uncertain whether it belongs to the forbidden or permissible category, listening to it is still permissible, though it is recommended to be cautious.
Dancing During Ramadan
Regarding the ruling on listening to music during Ramadan, scholars' opinions vary:
Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi's view: All sounds and music appropriate for gatherings of sin and corruption are forbidden, while other music is permissible. Listening to forbidden music does not invalidate the fast but diminishes the reward and impact of fasting.
Ayatollah Khamenei's view: Listening to music appropriate for gatherings of sin and entertainment is forbidden, whether during Ramadan or outside of it. However, listening to music that does not fall into this category is permissible, whether in Ramadan or not. The assessment of the issue is left to the person's common understanding.
Ruling on Dancing According to Islamic Scholars
In Islamic jurisprudence, a shared ruling among most scholars is that women dancing in the presence of non-mahram men is absolutely forbidden. However, a woman dancing for her husband is not problematic, as long as no third party is involved, and the dancing does not include forbidden actions.
Other cases, such as women dancing in women's gatherings or men dancing at weddings, have varied rulings. Scholars' opinions can be broadly categorized into three groups:
Absolutely forbidden: Ayatollah Safi Golpaygani believes that dancing by women in women's gatherings or men dancing at weddings is absolutely forbidden.
Strictly forbidden based on precaution: Ayatollahs Behjat, Makarem Shirazi, Fazel Lankarani, Noori Hamadani, Wahid Khorasani, and Ayatollah Sistani hold that women's dancing in women's gatherings or men's dancing at weddings is strictly forbidden, based on precaution. Precaution here means that no definitive fatwa has been issued on the matter, and followers can either adhere to this precaution or seek another fatwa from a more knowledgeable scholar.
Permissible under certain conditions: Ayatollahs Khomeini, Khamenei, and Tabrizi believe that women's dancing in women's gatherings or men's dancing at weddings is permissible if it does not lead to sexual arousal, cause corruption, or accompany any forbidden acts (like listening to forbidden music).
