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Fatwa CenterIbn Hajar did not allow dancing in Sufi Thikr
Question
assalamau alikum what is the opinion of ibn hajar asqalani on dancing in dhikr? sufis say he allowed it whiles salafis say he did not. salafis quote the following that he said: And some Sufis used the hadeeth of this chapter as proof for the permissibility of dancing and listening to musical instruments. However, the majority of scholars criticized this (deduction), because the two matters have different purposes. For, the playing of the Ethiopians was for the purpose of practicing for war. So, one cannot use this hadeeth as proof for the permissibility of dancing for entertainment purposes.And Allah knows best.[Fath al Bari, Kitab al Manaqib (Virtues), Chapter story of the Ethiopians] He also quoted Qurtubi against dance of sufis in fath al bari 2/571. But sufis say Yusuf Khattaar Muhammad in his work titled Al-Mawsu’ah Al-Yusufiyyah fi Bayaan Adillat As-Sufiyyah page 185 published in Damascus in 1999, third edition.] quotes Al-Ilhamaat Al-Ilhiyah of Shaykh Mahmuh Abi Shaamaat and jalal ud din Suyuti that, “Al-Hafith Ibn Hajr, the great Muhaddith, was asked regarding the ‘raqs’ (dancing) of the Sufis: Is there a premise (asl) for it. Did anyone perform raqsin the presence of the Messenger Salawatullah ‘alayh wa Aalihi wa Sahibih?” He said: “Yes! Verily Ja’far ibn Abi Taalib Radhiya Allahu ‘Anhu did raqsin the presence of Rasulullah (SAWS) when he told Ja’far ‘You resemble me in my created form and in my character.’ It would have been necessary for the Nabi (SAWS) (alayhis salaam) to clarify whether it was halaal or haraam, yet the Nabi (SAWS) (‘alayhis salaam) did not reject it. This is known in Mustalah Al-Hadith as “Iqraar“, or the acceptance and approval of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS). And the Nabi (SAWS) (‘alayhis salaam) would not have remained silent regarding the Haraam (forbidden) or the Makruh (hated).”
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
First of all, you should know that Ibn Hajar, the one who said the last statement, is not Ibn Hajar Al-‘Asqalaani, the author of Fat'h Al-Baari, but rather Ibn Hajar Al-Haytami said it in his book Al-Fataawa Al-Hadeethiyyah.
It is incorrect to infer the permissibility of Sufi dance from the tradition about the Abyssinian dance, as you already know what Ibn Hajar quoted the majority of scholars as saying. The Kuwaiti Fiqh Encyclopedia reads: “The Hanafis, Maalikis, Hanbalis and Al-Qaffaal from the Shaafi'i School of Fiqh are all of the view that dancing is disliked, justifying that by its lowliness and foolishness, and that it undermines manhood, and it is also vain play. Al-Abiyy said: The scholars interpreted the Hadeeth of the Abyssinians dancing to mean that they were jumping with their weapons and playing with their spears; in conformity with what was reported in the narration: They played in the presence of the Messenger of Allaah with their spears. All this applies if dancing is not accompanied by a forbidden matter like drinking alcohol or exposing one’s ‘Awrah (parts of the body that must be covered in Islam), in which case, it would be forbidden by consensus.” [End of quote]
With regard to the inference for the permissibility of dancing from the report about Ja'far ibn Abi Taalib, then Ibn Al-Qayyim 
said in Zaad Al-Ma’aad: “As for what was reported in this story that when Ja'far looked to the Prophet he hopped on one leg as a way of glorifying the Messenger of Allaah and that the bear-like dancers provided this as evidence for the permissibility of dancing, Al-Bayhaqi said that this was narrated on the authority of Ath-Thawri from Abu Zubayr from Jaabir, but in its chain of narrators to Ath-Thawri there are narrators who are not known. I said, even if this narration is authentic, this is not evidence for the permissibility of bending and swaying and moving like women which is contrary to the guidance of the Prophet . Perhaps this might have been the habit of the Abyssinians when they glorified their great people, like the marching of the Turks and the like, and Ja’far imitated them in doing that once and then he left it for the Sunnah of Islam, so how can this be compared to jumping, bending, swaying and moving like women, we ask Allaah to guide us.”
Allaah Knows best.
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