GENERAL ADVICE
3 June 2023 • 2.4K views
POINT 1. The Ruling of Football:
Sheikh Muqbil rahimahullah said:
”الكرة نفسها واللعب نفسه ليس بمحرم، وأن تجعل لك قدر ساعة أو نصف ساعة وتتنشط على القراءة، وهذا إذا لم تجد عملاً، أما إذا كنت زراعاً أو عندك عمل فتبدأ بعملك وهو يعتبر رياضة، أما إذا لم يكن لديك عمل فلا بأس.“
“Football and playing is not Haraam as such; for one to set out an hour or half an hour to energise for reading; that is if you have no job, but if you are a farmer or you have a job, then you should start with your job and this is considered as exercise, but if you do not have a job then it is okay (i.e. to set out time for exercise/sport).” [Qam' Al-Mu'aanid (2 / 397 - 398)]
POINT 2. The Ruling of using football as a means of da'wah:
Sheikh Muqbil rahimahullah said (same source as above):
الكرة ليست وسيلة من وسائل الدعوة، وما يجعلها من وسائل الدعوة إلا المفلسون.
“Football is not from the [legislated] means of da'wah, and no one takes it as a means of da'wah except the bankrupt ones (i.e. Ikhwaan Al-Muslimoon).”
POINT 3. Is point 2 specific to football?
No. It includes all kinds of unlegislated means which people have taken as a means of Da'wah.
Example:
▪️Inviting people to watch the world cup in the masjid
▪️Table tennis inside the masjid
▪️Ali Da'wah's 'Islamic' Jeremy Kyle show
▪️Giving Da'wah to/ debating with semi-naked women on the streets, filming them, and then broadcasting that to Muslims worldwide
.... For more on this topic, refer to Sheikh 'Abdussalam Burjis' treatise:
الحجج القوية على أن وسائل الدعوة توقيفية
POINT 4. Is there a reason for writing this post?
Yes. I saw a youtube video showing highlights from a football match between two Salafi teams; Masjid (#) vs. (#) College
Tayyib. How do you know their intention? Why don't you apply husn Adh-dhann and say it's for exercise purposes and not da'wah?
Answer:
I don't know their intentions. In fact, they could have the purest of intentions. In spite of that, we are still required to judge people according to what they make apparent. And from what's apparent, they have taken this as a means of da'wah, because:
1. Ignoring the fact that the game should not have been video-recorded in the first place (because Tasweer is haraam), the highlights of the game were posted on a platform specific for da'wah. Not to mention, someone must have taken time out to edit the entire video to capture only the best parts (that's what highlights are), choose the best camera angles, etc. So unless they are doing this as a hobby; which I highly doubt a student of knowledge would waste their precious time on such a lowly hobby, this is either voluntary or paid work for da'wah purposes. Also, was this game recorded using people's personal devices or da'wah equipment?!
2. If it was a casual kick around, we would not have teams representing Salafi masjids and institutes!
🔺Note: Setting up teams in this manner leads to fanaticism and partisanship, even if it's just a friendly (* see footnote at the end). To avoid this, the teams should have been assorted from the two groups of players.
3. There is an advertisement that scrolls vertically at the bottom of the video which reads something like, “sign up to the institute for £** a month.”
Thus judging from what is apparent, this football game is being used as a means of da'wah.
Furthermore, the Prophet ﷺ said in an authentic hadeeth:
((من تشبه بقوم فهو منهم))
“Whoever imitates a people then he is one of them.”
The scholars mention an important principle related to this hadeeth; that is:
'التشبه لا يفتقر إلى نية'
“Imitation does not require an intention.” In other words, we are not required to delve into people's intentions before adjudging them to have fallen into imitation.
Sheikh 'Uthaymeen rahimahullah said:
فإن قال قائل أنا لم أقصد التشبّه قلنا إن التشبّه لا يفتقر إلى نيّة لأن التشبّه المشابهة في الشكل والصورة فإذا حصلت فهو تشبّه سواء نويت أم لم تنوي لكن إن نويت صار أشد وأعظم لأنك إذا نويت فإنما فعلت ذلك محبّة لما هم عليه وتكريما وتعظيما لما هم عليه فيكون أشد وأعظم