The Waltz is the Height of
Man–Woman Decorum.
Islam Forbids Even a Cordial Handshake Between an Unrelated Man and Woman
“For one of you to be stabbed in the head with an iron needle is better for him than to touch a woman who is not lawful for him.”
Source: al-Ṭabarānī, al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr, 20/211, nos. 486–487; al-Rūyānī, Musnad, no. 1283; graded ṣaḥīḥ by al-Albānī in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ, no. 5045.
A Ritual of Western Civilisation.
In the waltz, an unrelated man and woman maintain controlled physical contact and distance. The man’s left hand holds the woman’s right. His right hand rests on her shoulder blade, while her left hand rests on his shoulder or upper arm. Together, they maintain a solid frame. They face one another, coordinate their movement and may maintain eye contact. In Western culture, this formal, disciplined interaction represents man–woman decorum. Under the cited Islamic ruling, however, the physical contact is strictly forbidden.
Which Women Are “Lawful” for Him to Touch?
Generally, they include his wife and his mahram relatives—women he is permanently forbidden to marry—such as his mother, daughter, sister, aunt, niece and mother-in-law, as well as certain relationships created through breastfeeding.
Under classical Islamic law, the category also included a female slave or captive whom he lawfully possessed.
This is the Antithesis of Western Civilisation.
Historically, the coming-out ball marked a young woman’s formal entrance
into adult social life. Dancing introduced her to eligible men in a public
setting governed by family presence, etiquette and restraint. The waltz thus
enacted a formalized courtship ritual: invitation, acceptance, touch,
coordinated movement and mutual attention—sexual possibility disciplined by
social decorum.
This page examines one cultural contrast. The trilogy examines the wider contrast over Islamic interpretation, authority and influence.
Copyright © by ERIC BRAZAU. All rights reserved 2026.
