Ruling on a woman dancing for her husband, and is she obliged to obey him in that?

There is nothing wrong with a woman dancing for her husband, as this is something that may endear her to him, and provoke desire to have intercourse with her, and enjoy something that is permissible. So by doing that the wife should intend to endear herself to her husband, and to help him to avert his gaze from things that are prohibited, because some husbands fall into the sin of looking at dancers, which is haraam, and fulfilling his desires in a halaal way may put an end to that sin of his, namely looking at that which is haraam. So it is permissible subject to certain conditions, including the following:

1.. Not letting any of her children watch her, because that could have a negative impact and reduce their respect for their parents. Not everything that is permissible between spouses can be done in front of the children.

2.. The dancing should not be accompanied by any instrumental music.

3.. The woman should not look at haraam images and movies to learn how to dance, because it is haraam for her to look at those immoral women and their ‘awrahs. So she should do whatever she can of whatever she already knows, or whatever she can do without needing to learn.

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

With regard a woman dancing in front of her husband when there is no one else with them, there is nothing wrong with that, because that may make her more desirable to her husband, and anything that may make her more desirable to her husband is good, so long as it is not haraam in and of itself.

Hence it is Sunnah for the woman to beautify herself for her husband, just as it is also Sunnah for the husband to beautify himself for his wife as she beautifies herself for him." (Al-Liqa’ ash-Shahri  12/question no. 9).

Shaykh Muhammad Naasir ad-Deen al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked whether, if a woman wears in front of her husband the kind of clothes that dancers wear on stage, that is expressing a kind of love and approval of what they do.

The shaykh responded saying that it is permissible, if it is between the spouses only, and no one else sees her. He (may Allah have mercy on him) stated that her wearing these clothes does not come under the heading of imitation that is blameworthy, and that those immoral dancers dance in public, whereas in this case, it is between her and her husband, and there is a great difference between the two.

Tape no. 814, Silsilat al-Huda wa’n-Noor.