Category Archives: Ethics

Uwais al-Qarani (May Allah be pleased with him)

Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Raheem

by Shaykh Muhammad Sa’id al-Jamal ar-Rifa’i

from his book, The Children Around the Table of Allah

In a Hadith Qudsi recorded by the Companion Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, the Prophet Muhammad (s) said speaking from his Lord:

“Allah, Exalted and Mighty is He, loves of His creation the God-fearing, the pure in the heart, those who are hidden, and those who are innocent, whose face is dusty, whose hair is unkempt, whose stomach is empty, and who, if he asks permission to enter to the rulers, is not granted it, and if he were to ask for a gentle lady in marriage, he would be refused, and when he leaves the world it does not miss him, and if he goes out, his going out is not noticed, and if he falls sick, he is not attended to, and if he dies, he is not accompanied to his grave.”

They asked him, “O Messenger of Allah, how can we find someone like that?” He, (s), said, “Uwais al-Qarani is such a one.” They asked him, “and who is Uwais al-Qarani?” He, (s), answered, “He is dark skinned, wide shoulder, and of average height. His complexion is close to the color of earth. His beard touches his chest. His eyes are always looking downwards to the place of prostration, and his right hand is on his left hand. He weeps about himself with such a flow of tears that his lips are swollen. He wears a woolen garment and is know to the people of the heavens. If he makes a promise in the Name of Allah, he keeps it. Under his left shoulder there is a white spot. When the Day of Resurrection comes and it is announced to the slaves, “Enter the Garden,” it will be said to Uwais, ‘Stop and intercede.’ Allah, Mighty and Exalted is He, will then forgive them to the same number as are the people of Rabi’a and Mudhar. (These are the two tribes that Uwais, (r), belonged to). So, O Umar and O Ali, if you can find him, ask him to intercede for you. Then Allah will forgive you.”

Ten years passed by which they inquired about him, but without being able to find him. In the year 21H./644CE, the same year that Umar ibn al-Khattab (r), became the Second Righteous Caliph after the Prophet’s death, (s), Umar (r) went to the Mountains of Abu Qubays (mountain overlooking Makka) and called in his loudest voice, “O people of the Yemen, is there anyone up there called Uwais?”

An old shaykh with a long beard stood up and replied, “We do not know who this Uwais is about whom you ask, but my brother’s son is called Uwais. But he is too unimportant to be asked about, and too poor and submissive that he should be raised up to your level. He is our camel-herder, and he has no standing amongst our people.” But Umar again asked him if he knew Uwais.

The man answered, “Why do you ask about him, O Commander of the Faithful, for by Allah there is not one of us who is more foolish and more needy than he.”

Umar, (r), then wept and said to him, “You are so, but not he. For I heard the Messenger of Allah. (s), say, “Those who enter the Garden through Uwais, asking for forgiveness for them, are the people of the tribe of Rabi`a and Mudhar.” Umar, (r), asked him where he could find him, and was told, “On the Mount of `Arafat.”

Umar and Ali, (ra), then went quickly to Arafat where they found Uwais praying under a tree with camels grazing around him. They approached him and greeted him, saying, “As-salaamu Alaikum wa Rahmut Allahi wa Barakatuh.” Uwais cut his prayer short, and when he had finished it, returned their greeting. They asked him, “Who are you?” He replied, “A herdsman of camels and a hired workman for a tribe.” They said, “we do not ask you about your tending of animals, nor about your being a hired worker, but what is your name?” He answered, “Abdullah.” They said, “All the people of the heavens and the earth are the slaves of Allah, but what is the name in which your mother named you?” He said, “O you two, what do you want from me?” They said, “The Messenger of Allah (s) once spoke to us about Uwais al-Qarani. He gave us a description of the bluish-black color of his eyes, and he told us that he has a white mark under his left shoulder. So please show us if you have this mark, for then it is you for whom we are searching.”

Uwais then bared his left shoulder, and they saw a white mark. They then embraced him and kissed him and said, “We declare that you are Uwais al-Qarani, so ask for forgiveness for us and May Allah forgive you.”

He answered, “I cannot even forgive myself, nor one of Adam’s children. But there are on land and in the seas believing men and women, Muslim men and women, whose invocations to Allah are answered.” They replied, “Surely this is so.” Then he said, “O you two, you know about me and I know about my state, but who are you?”

Ali, (r), answered, “This is the Commander of the Faithful (al-amir al-muminin), Umar ibn al-Khattab, and I am Ali ibn Abu Talib.”

Uwais stood up straight and said, “As-salaamu alaikum ya ‘amir al-mumminin. And you, O Ali, may Allah repay you with goodness for this Community (Ummah).” They said, “May Allah repay you for yourself and your goodness.”

Then Umar, (r), said to Uwais, “Your place is here until I return to Madinah, and may Allah have mercy upon you. Then I will bring you help from my provision and some of my clothes. This has been the meeting place between you and me.”

But Uwais, (r), answered him, “O Commander of the Faithful, there will be no other meeting place, in the knowledge of Allah, between you and me, but this one. So tell me, what should I do with your provision, and what should I do with your clothes? Do you not see that I am wearing a woolen gown and a woolen wrapper, so when do you see me tearing them? Or do you see that my sandals are worn out and torn? When do you see me out wearing them? Between your hand and mine there is a higher barrier which cannot be crossed by a weighty person, So leave these things, and Allah will have mercy upon you.”

When Umar, (r) heard these words, he struck the ground with his stick and shouted out at the top of his voice, “O would that Umar had not been born by his mother, and that she had been sterile!”

Then Umar (r), returned to Al-Madinah, and Uwais (r), herded his camels back to his tribe.

Not long after this, Uwais left his work as a herdsman and went to Kufah where he continued in his bondsmandship until Allah, Glory be to Him took him back to Himself.

When Umar ibn al-Khattab, (r), heard that Uwais wanted to go back to Kufah, he said to him, “Where do you want to go to?” Uwais said, “to Kufah.” Umar, (r), then said, “Shall I write a letter for you to its Governor?” Uwais replied, “I would rather be with the people who are near to my heart.”

In a sahih hadith of Muslim, it is recorded that Umar (r) said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, (s), say, “Uwais ibn ‘Amir will come with a number of the people of the tribe of Mudar from the region of Qarn as if he had a sickness on his skin. He had a mother to whom he was most perfectly devoted, and if he asked anything of Allah it would be granted to him. If you meet him, ask him to ask forgiveness for you.”

It was said of the Companion ‘Alqama ibn Marthid, (r), that he said, “Asceticism is specially associated with eight people, one of whom is Uwais al-Qarani. His family thought that he was mad, and they built him a room near the door of their house. Days would pass by when they would not see him, and his food was what he took from plants and herbs of the earth which he would sell to buy food for himself.

Also the Companion ‘Amar ibn Saif, (r) said, “When a man once asked Uwais al-Qarani, ‘How did you begin the morning and how did you finish the evening?”‘ He (r) answered, ‘I began in the morning by loving Allah, and I finished the evening in praising Him. Do not ask about the state of a man who, when he wakes up in the morning thinks that he will not see the evening, or when he is alive in the evening thinks that he will not wake up in the morning. Death and its mentioning and remembering does not leave the believer any space for happiness.’ For, as he then said, “In Allah’s Eyes, Exalted is He, what a Muslim possesses does not gather any silver or gold, for one should only be doing what is permitted and avoiding what is forbidden, and whatever does not have leave a believer with a single friend. When we ask them to do what is permitted they insult us, and in that they are helped by the unbelievers and sinful people. By Allah they have thrown terrible things at me, but O Allah I will not leave them until I show them the right way.”

One of them said, “A number of people had spoken to me about Uwais al-Qarani, so hearing that he was then living in Kufah, I went there to find him, for I had no other desire except to see him. I found him sitting by the shore of the Tigris, and I recognized him by the description that I had been given of him. A thin man looked at me, and I stretched out my hand to greet him, but he did not return my greeting. I felt discouraged but I asked him, “Are you Uwais:”

His clothes were poor, and he seemed to be in a state of unwrapped isolation, for it was this state of his which led the ignorant people to say about him that he was mad and deranged. But I knew that his ascetic and surrendered state was that of the true faqir, who does not listen to those who say that such a state is contrary to the Sunnah. Such people are ignorant of the true Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, (s), which is to leave the material world and the business of creation, and to draw near to one’s Lord; to leave all bonds which are other than to Allah, Exalted and Mighty is He.”

Haram ibn Hayyan continued his account of this meeting by saying, “Then I addressed him saying, ‘May Allah have mercy upon you, O Uwais, and forgive you, How are you?’ “Then my voice halted. For I could not speak my heart which was moved with deep gentleness towards him when I saw his state and that he had started weeping. I found myself also weeping. “Then Uwais said to me, ‘May Allah greet you. How are you my brother, ibn Hayyan, and who showed you the way to me?” “I answered him, ‘It was Allah.” “He said, ‘There is no God but Allah, praise be to our Lord. If it is the Wish of Allah, a thing is done. So this is Allah’s Wish.” I said, ‘How did you know my name, and my father’s name? For my name was Haram ibn Hayyan.’ Uwais said, ‘The Knower told me, for my soul knows your soul when my self talks to your self.’ For the believers know each other in their love for Allah, even if they never met; and when they come to our resting place, they know each other even if they come from somewhere far distant. “I said, ‘Tell me about the Messenger of Allah, (s).’ “Uwais said, ‘I have never seen the Messenger of Allah face to face and I have never been in his presence, but I would give my life for him. But I do not like to talk about that.’ “I said to Uwais, ‘Recite me some verses of the Book of Allah, so that I may hear it from you and so that I may learn them by heart from you. For know that I love you in Allah.’ “Uwais took my hand, and said, ‘I seek refuge in Allah, the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing, from the accursed shaytan.’ Then he recited, ‘We created not the heavens and the earth and what is between them for mere play.‘ (44:38) . Then he sighed a deep sigh, and I looked at him with they eye of Love, for he had become absent.

“A little while later he said to me, ‘O son of Hayyan, your father has died and soon you will die, going either to the Garden or the Fire. My brother and friend Umar ibn al-Khattab has died.’ I said to him, ‘May Allah forgive you, but Umar has not died.” “Uwais said, ‘Yes, and the people have announced his death, and so has Allah, Mighty and Exalted is He, and He has announced my own death. For you and I are both of the dead.” “Then he prayed upon the Prophet, (s), and murmured some short invocations. “Then he said, ‘This is what I leave you, the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Prophet, (s), and you should always remember death, and this should never ever leave your heart for a moment. And warn your people when you go back to them, and say to the whole Community, ‘Do not forsake the people, for if you do, you will forsake your religion without being aware of it, and you will enter the Fire. So pray for me and yourself.’

Then Uwais, (r), said to me, ‘O Lord this is a claim, for he loves me in You, and he has visited me because of You, and permit me to see his face in the Garden, and make him enter the Home of Peace, and protect him in this world, as long as he is alive. Keep him from the material world (dunya) through the walking on the Path, and make him to be thankful for the blessings YOU give him, and give him goodness from me.’

Then he, (r) said, ‘As-salaamu alaikum wa Rahmutullahi wa Barakatuh, for I will not see you after this day. May Allah have mercy upon you, but I do not like to be known, and I love to be solitary, for I am in deep anxiety when I am with people. So do not ask about me, and do not call upon me, but know that you are in my heart even if I do not see you nor you see me. Mention me and pray for me, for I will mention you and pray for you, if Allah, Exalted is He, so wishes. So go away from here.’”

Haram ibn Hayyan said, ” I deeply wanted to walk with him for an hour, but after that he did not allow me anymore, so I left him and I started to weep, and he also wept.

I kept watching him until he went into a road…After that I asked about him, and I called to him, but no one could tell me anything about him. But then, after a week or so had passed by, I saw him once or twice in my sleep. Uwais said, ‘The Messenger of Allah died,’ but he did not say, ‘The Messenger of Allah, sall-Allahu `Alayhi wa sallam,’ although he said it about the Prophets before him. By this he meant that the grace of the Messenger of Allah is well known, and he is known for the perfection of his honor, and he does not need to be praised by people.”

Some said that when night came, Uwais, (t) would say, “This night is for prostrating.” Then he would prostrate until morning. And also when night came he would distribute the food in his house to the poor, and he would say, “O Lord, if someone dies this night out of hunger, excuse me, and if someone dies naked, excuse me.”

Abdullah ibn Salma, the Companion, (t) said, “We went to Azerbaijan in the company of our Master Umar ibn al-Khattab, (r), and Uwais was with us. On our way back he became ill and we carried him, but he did not last long and he died. We went to bury him and found a grave that was already dug. Water was available and everything was ready to receive a dead body. We washed him, put him in a shroud, prayed over him, and then we left. Some of us said that we should go back and mark the grave so that we would be able to find it later. So we returned to the place, but there was no trace of the grave to be found.”

May Allah be pleased with him, and for he himself alone was equal to an entire Ummah (Community).

 

 

 


© 2012 As-Sunnah Foundation of America

Kissing the Thumbs, etc. During The Adhan?

Ma sha’ Allah, Rabbi zidni ‘ilman!

In fiqh, the discussion of taqbil al-unbulatayn wa mash al-‘aynayn is usually found at the end of Bab Adhan. Certain gestures performed during the adhan, and specifically the amal of kissing the thumbs and wiping the eye, are something known to Shafi`is, and there can be no objection whatsoever by our jurists (and any jurists for that matter) to those wishing to perform this `amal: as far as we are concerned, it is classified under the category of the Fada’il al-A`mal [I`anat, 1:243; al-Jurdani, Fath al-`Allam, 2:140-1].

Among its legal bases [`ilal] is that it is a Sunna of the first Khalifa of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him!) [i.e., an Athar of the first Khalifa], and it is also based on a number of Hadiths, of which the most well known is the Hadith of Abu Bakr (may Allah be well pleased with him!):

lammA sami’a qawla l-mu’adhdhini ashhadu anna MuHammadan rasUluLlAhi qAla hAdhA wa qabbila bATina l-unmulatayni l-sabbAbatayni wa masaHa `aynayhi fa-qAla SallaLlAhu `alayhi wa sallama man fa`ala mithla khalIlI faqad Hallat `alayhi shafA`atI [Whenever he [Abu Bakr] heard the Mu’addhin say: “I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”, he would repeat this [phrase as it is the Mandub of Adhan] and would kiss the tip of the index fingers [or thumbs] and wipe his eyes. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him!) said: whosoever does what my friend [i.e., Abu Bakr] did, my intercession will come down upon him] (Related by al-Daylami, with variants).

Almost all of the Muhaddith consider this and other Hadiths like it to be weak [Da`if] (at its lowest level, a Marfu` Hadith [something ascribed to the Prophet]; and it is because the Hadith is Da’if that the `amal is counted among the Fada’il, and not the confirmed Sunna!). Nevertheless, this is definitely not a fabricated Hadith [Mawdu`], and weak Hadiths are not and cannot be considered as false and lies. Furthermore, as Sayyid `Alawi al-Maliki (may Allah be pleased with him!) reported in his dedicated treatise on the rules concerning the use of weak Hadiths, the Manhal Latif, that scholars of the four law-schools [madhhab] concurred by Ijma` [Consensus]–and that this Ijma` was recorded from the time of the Mujtahid Imam, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (may Allah be well pleased with him!) until now–that any Hadith which are Da`if (as long as it is not Mawdu`), can be acted upon for the Fada’il al-A`mal [`Alawi al-Maliki, Manhal, 251-253]. Literally, “Fada’il al-A`mal” means ‘extra works’; but technically it means the extra acts of devotion performed, or refrained from, beyond one’s call of duty in order to please the Lawmaker, that is, an `amal that can lead to it’s being classed either as recommended [i.e., Mandub/Sunna/Mustahabb] or disliked [Makruh] but never Wajib [obligatory] or Haram [prohibited]. In this mas’ala, of course, it is a recommended act (and not Makruh).

Know that he who blames others–in the name of bid`a–for carrying out an `amal, saying that it is based on a weak Hadith or that the `amal is not based on an authentic Hadith, shows a sign that he may not be a trained faqih (whether he is called a Mufti/Shaykh/Mawlana or not); and that he probably has knowledge only of the literal Arabic but not a deep understanding of what is beyond the text, which is what the jurist is expected to know. In the old days, when scholarship was taken for granted (because scholastic `alims were many and accessible then), even the public knew that a weak Hadith can form the basis of an `amal. Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah be pleased with him!), in his popular work the Adhkar, says:

“The specialists of Hadiths [i.e., Muhaddith] and the jurists [Fuqaha‘] and other (scholars) have said that one is permitted, and in fact is recommended, to use weak Hadith in matters of ‘extra acts of devotion’ [Fada’il] and in ‘arousing one’s desire to do good and inspiring one’s fear from doing evil’ [Targhib wa al-Tarhib]–as long as it is not a fabricated Hadith. As for the legal rulings pertaining to what is lawful and unlawful [al-Halal wa al-Haram], buying and selling, marriage and divorce, and others like it [because all of them involve either an injunctive legal ruling [Hukm Shar`i Taklifi] (such as Haram and Wajib) or a stipulatory legal ruling [Hukm Shar`i Wad`i] (such as Shart and Mani`)] are concerned, one can only use a rigorously authenticated Hadith [Sahih] or a well authenticated Hadith [Hasan], except if a precautionary ruling [Ihtiyat] is [involved] in some matter relating to one of them. So, if a weak Hadith is found to object against some types of sales or some form of marriages, then it is recommended to avoid it (i.e., the sale or the marriage) even when it is not obligatory to do so [and even when the sale or the marriage is legally valid].”
(al-Nawawi, Adhkar, 7-8)

I am not a Hanafi scholar (from whom you should really be asking your fiqhi/furu` questions), but classical Hanafi reference texts such as those of the Muhaqqiq of your school, Ibn `Abidin (and in spite the fact that he knew this `amal is based on weak Hadiths, he nevertheless) relates the opinion that this `amal is permissible and even Mustahabb, that is, the act when done will entail a reward. [Ibn `Abidin, Hashiya, 2:84-5]. In practice, apart from the Hanafis, some Shafi`i communities have inherited this `amal, and among the Malikis, those who are in the Sudan.

Qa’ida: To this end, we could sum up a point of law tersely in the following maxim: al-`amalu bi-r-riDA yanfI l-Hurmata [an act that is consented to, prevents prohibition].
What I mean by this qa’ida is that once something has been accepted by some of the mustahiqq, in this case, the scholars and the public alike, no one has any right [haqq] to object to it.

So do not be swayed by what you read if Muslims have been doing this in the past and are still doing this fadila `amal. If there are others who blame you for carrying on with this inherited `amal, then know that the person, apart from wasting his precious time, knows not how to leave alone what does not concern him [tark ma la ya`nih] where his time could be better spent in improving the lot of the Muslims today or benefiting others in this world. Not only does he not know how to mind his own business, but he has no right whatsoever to censure [Ihtisab] you in the first place (and by not tolerating and by criticizing you on this, he himself is transgressing a well known rule of Bab Amr bi-l-Ma`ruf wa Nahi ‘an al-Munkar [roughly speaking, the duty of a Muslim to intervene when another is acting wrongly]: that the duty has no application in matters over which the fuqaha‘ differed, thereby making himself liable for others to advise him). Furthermore, what is more embarrassing is that there is no legal basis [`illa] and cause [sabab] that warrants a Hisba for this case, or at least no jurist properly schooled will ever entertain the thought. For when others are blamed by a Muhtasib for carrying out this `amal, it is no different from the case of someone becoming upset at the sight of a pedestrian suddenly stopping to remove a wad of old chewing gum from his path (ponder over this!) or at the very minimum, complaining why a customer is buying only apples and not oranges.

According to Shafi’i jurists, this act is counted among the Fada’il, and there are undeniable benefits for those who wish to take from it and they are means to make one rich in the Next world; and in the same way that the one performing it cannot criticize others for neglecting it, nor can others criticize those who carry on doing it. It is a matter of personal choice (for one’s private-but-made-public bank account is no one else’s in the Next world) if one wants to take or overlook this Fadila in this world: take it or leave it, no more.

Allahumma aj`alna mina’l-`amilin wa-la taj`alna mina’l-mutakallikim!

[O’ Allah! Make us among those who do some work, not among those who can only talk]; Amin!

May this be of benefit.

wa sallallahu `ala Muhammadin wa `ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam
wa billahi t-tawfiq wa l-hidaya wa l-hamdulillah rabbi l-`alamin.

Your silent brother in Oxford,

M. Afifi al-Akiti
24 Muharram 1425
17 III 2004

Select Bibliography:

`Alawi al-Maliki. al-Manhal al-Latif fi Ahkam al-Hadith al-Da`f. In Majmu’ Fatawa wa-Rasa’il al-Imam al-Sayyid ‘Alawi al-Maliki al-Hasani. Edited by [his son and our scholar] Muhammad ibn ‘Alawi al-Maliki al-Makki al-Hasani. [Medina: Matabi` al-Rashid], 1413 H.

al-Bakri. Hashiyat I`anat al-Talibin. 4 vols. Bulaq, 1300 H.

al-Jurdani. Fath al-`Allam bi-Sharh Murshid al-Anam fi al-Fiqh `ala Madhhab al-Sadah al-Shafi`iyah. Edited by Muhammad al-Hajjar. 4 vols. Cairo: Dar al-Salam, 1990.

Ibn `Abidin. Radd al-Muhtar `ala Durr al-Mukhtar Hashiyat Ibn `Abidin. Edited by `Abd al-Majid Tu`mah Halabi. 12 vols. Beirut: Dar al-Ma`rifa, 2000.

al-Nawawi. al-Adhkar al-Muntakhab min Kalam Sayyid al-Abrar. Beirut: al-Maktaba al-`Umawiyya, 1955.

taken from : www.livingislam.org

 


© 2012 As-Sunnah Foundation of America

IECRC Youth Discussion Forum (YDF)*: Sports

Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem

As-salam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakaatuhu!

 

SPORTS!  What is sports? – Sports are different kinds of activities we do in order to stay fit and healthy. Sports these days are the pleasures people prefer to indulge in. People play different sports such as basket-ball, badminton and so forth to maintain their health status and do activities such as aerobics and gymnastics, to stay fit. All of these come under the sports of everyday life or in other terms, activities of everyday life.

Allah The Exalted has given guidance for everything in life. Even Sports! People usually think that things which are not mentioned in the Qur’an are of no importance and we should avoid them. Even though sports is not mentioned in the Qur’an, The Holy Qur’an clearly gives the basic principles of playing sports in Islam. When a Muslim plays sports or indulges himself in certain activities, he should keep in mind that he is bound by the principles of ISLAM. These include basic principles like:

• Firstly, Cleanliness: Not only in sports but also in general, hygiene is a very important factor one should keep in mind while doing anything, sports in particular. We should wear clean clothes and have the proper equipment for playing the sport.

• Secondly, No Cheating: This is also among the most important factors, where the person playing should have a clear and clean mind. He should be fair in his actions and prevent malpractices which may harm his fellow opponents.

• Thirdly, No Violence: Even though we try as hard as we can to avoid fouls during a game, we never succeed. Everyone makes mistakes. Having an open mind is very important so that we can think through the situation in a fair manner. We can do this by avoiding being very aggressive and try to co-operate with the fellow mates.

• Fourthly, No Addiction: Obsession! Addiction! These days the minds of young kids have become violent due to their obsession for sports, may it be indoor or outdoor sports. In outdoor sports, we have certain sports like cricket, football and so forth which are the main addictions to the minds of teen boys. In indoor sports, the latest source of obsession for every kid is the PLAY STATION. When the kids get their hands on the gaming controller, they forget about food, parents, manners  and their responsibilities. They try to postpone their work just so they can catch a few minutes of pleasure. Addiction to anything is strictly forbidden in the Holy  Qur’an and sports is no exception.

In addition to the principles described above, there is one more important rule which every Muslim should follow without any excuse:

MODESTY: This rule applies to both men and women. In the case of men, they must cover between the naval and knees. In the case of women, they are to wear loose clothes which do not show the shape of their bodies. Their hands, legs and head should be covered. Let us take the example of a popular sport, Wrestling. In this sport, we see people who have a bad sense of clothing, in other terms wearing almost nothing. It is not only haraam for them to wear such clothes but it is also a sin on our part to watch them in these vulgar clothes.

Before we move ahead with this topic, I’d like to bring another important aspect to your attention. Did you know that all actions we perform in our day-to-day life fall into five different categories which are described as below:

1) Fardh (obligatory) - All actions which fall in this category are made necessary for us to follow. They are therefore, ‘fardh’ and  we will be punished if we don’t perform them sincerely. Eg: Salat (5 times a day), Fast (in the Holy  Month of Ramadan)

2) Mandub (recommended) – In this category if you do the particular action which is mandub, then you will get its reward but if you don’t do it then you will not get a gunaah (sin). Eg: In Dhuhr prayer, we have 4 cycles of sunnah prayers, 4 cycles of fardh prayers and 2 cycles of sunnah prayers which are all necessary for us to pray. But we also have the 2 cycles of nafl prayers which if prayed will get us a reward and if not prayed won’t get us any gunaah.

3) Mubah (neutral) – In this category are actions which do not have any inherent reward or sin – it depends on our intention. Eg: Suppose you wear a red shirt gifted by your mother without thinking about it. In this case you will not get any reward or sin. However if you wear it with the intention to make your Mom happy, then this action will get you a reward. Most sports would fall into this category except for three which will be mentioned in a Hadeeth below. If the sport is played for a good intention while keeping within all the bounds of the Shari’ah (Islamic law), it can get us a reward and if played for a bad reason or by breaking the rules of Islam, can even get us a sin.

4) Makrooh (disliked) – These actions are disliked by Allah Almighty. However we won’t be punished if we do them but if we avoid them then Allah Almighty will reward us. Eg: We should always pray salat on time. If we are free and wasting our time, leaving namaz for the last minute, it is definitely Makrooh.

5) Haram (forbidden) – The name says it all. The  actions which fall in this category, are strictly forbidden by Allah and by doing this we will be punished no doubt! Eg: Drinking alcohol, immodesty etc.

Let us now talk about the advantages of sports in Islam.

– It helps to develop the health status of a person. By playing sports, we can stay fit and healthy and can avoid certain illnesses such as obesity.

– It allows people to interact with each other, with sports being a medium of interaction.

– Team sports such as cricket, develops important qualities such as leadership, team co-operation and better understanding among fellow mates.

– Acting and singing (recitation) can also be good activities depending on our intention. But then again it depends on how we see them. If we use our singing (recitation) to improve our vocals and sing (recite) hymns in the praise of Allah ALMIGHTY and poems to praise Our Beloved Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam we would get numerous thawaab or rewards. Similarly if we are acting in role plays or theater the purpose of which is to convey important messages to benefit society then this can be a good act also.

Sports can become a good deed if we remove all the bad things such as cheating, violence, addiction etc. It can also become a good deed if we are doing it for a specific reason such as to stay fit or for a charity. It should not be solely for our own pleasure and purpose. Any sport or activity which becomes an addiction is not good and strictly forbidden in the rules of Islam.

Islam is the most pure religion. Where ever it goes, it purifies it. It decides the actions we do are good or bad. It makes us think whether these actions would harm us or be of any good to us. In short, the main objective of Islam, irrespective of any topic, is to remove the bad and add the good. We should therefore, indulge in good healthy sports but not for the pleasure of it but for the benefit of it to keep us healthy. There are many sports which are excellent examples of good healthy sports such as swimming, squash etc. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) advised to be involved in three sports: swimming, archery and horseback riding. Swimming is the best exercise because it involves just about every muscle in the body. Archery teaches us precision. Horseback riding makes us sensitive to response because horses are very sensitive to the feelings of its rider. So participating in these sports would actually fall in the category of Mandub as described above.

We should all try to stay fit and healthy by playing the above mentioned  sports by having a good intention of it benefitting us. As the Bukhari Shareef’s  Hadeeth states, “Innamal A’amaalu bin Niyyaat” - Every action depends on its intention.

Thank You!

Sadiya Riaz Shaikh, Kingdom of Bahrain

Sadiya Riaz Shaikh is an active youth participant of IECRC Bahrain. She is the daughter of Mrs. Zarine and Mr. Riaz Shaikh who have contributed greatly to the development of IECRC work in Bahrain.

* YDF (Youth Discussion Forum) is an IECRC effort initiated in the Kingdom of Bahrain in order to engage Muslim youth in thoughtful and vibrant discussions on topics that are of interest to THEM. All too often youth are exposed to Islam in a one directional manner as a dry set of do’s and don’ts failing to reveal its rich intellectual heritage and spiritual depth and beauty. Through these discussions on topics chosen by the youth themselves, the goal of the YDF is three fold:

  1. To make youth realize that there is no topic that can be separated from the holistic principles and balanced values of Islam, whether it is the internet, music or movies; that Islam guides every area of life beyond praying, fasting and reading the Holy Quran.
  2. To break the stereotype that Islam is a dry set of do’s and don’ts and that on the contrary it is a vast and vibrant religion with a rich historical heritage which encourages intellectual discussions, not for the sake of polemics but for the sake of Allah and His Beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family and companions.)
  3. To break the stereotype that Islam doesn’t care about how you feel about things. On the contrary Islam is very sensitive to human emotions and provides practical tools to channel it in a productive way thereby nurturing the spirit.