Sufyaan and Sports

Ask our children:

1. Why has Allah Ta‘ala created us and sent us to this world?
2. Why is it important to be healthy and fit?
3. Is it permissible for a Muslim to play sports which involve haraam and sins being committed, or where the environment is haraam?
4. What does it mean to be obsessed with sports?
5. Is it permissible to watch sports on the TV or go to a stadium to spectate?
6. Which people should we look up to and try to follow in life?

Now tell them the story:

Sufyaan was a little boy who Allah Ta‘ala had blessed with a strong, healthy and fit body. Sufyaan loved sports and was very good at any sport that he played. Whether he played soccer, tennis, cricket, or padel, he would almost always score the most and beat all his friends.

Together with playing sports, Sufyaan also liked to watch sports. Most of the time, he would watch the match on the TV, but sometimes, his father would take him to the stadium to see a live match.

Sufyaan admired all the sports stars so much that he knew all their names, histories, and best scores, and he even had t-shirts with their names and cut his hair in the same style as them.

Sufyaan loved sports so much that he stopped coming to madrasah in the afternoons. Instead of coming to madrasah to learn the sunnah duas, he went to play padel. Instead of coming to learn the surahs of the Qur’aan, he was going to play cricket. Instead of learning the blessed seerah of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), he was playing soccer.

This caused Sufyaan’s Moulana to become very, very worried. Moulana did not see Sufyaan for a long time, and when he did finally see him, he was sad to see that Sufyaan was looking like a non-Muslim sports star. He was wearing a short pants, a t-shirt with a sports star’s name, and was keeping a non-Muslim hairstyle.

Moulana loved little Sufyaan and could not see him in this evil condition. Moulana was so worried that after seeing Sufyaan like this, he could not sleep. In the darkness of the night, Moulana performed a few rakaats of salaah and then made dua to Allah Ta‘ala to guide Sufyaan and his parents towards deen and the sunnah.

The next day, Moulana went to Sufyaan’s house to speak to Sufyaan and his father. Moulana knocked on the door, and after greeting Sufyaan’s father with salaam, he was welcomed into the home.

A few seconds later, Sufyaan burst into the lounge and was excited and delighted to see his Moulana. He greeted Moulana and said, “Moulana! I have fantastic news! In fact, I have double good news! I was made the captain of the school soccer team, and also, the team we support won the league last night! We saw the whole match on the TV, so I didn’t miss any goals, but its not the same as being in the stadium. Hopefully next time, we can go to see the match live in the stadium.”

Moulana smiled at Sufyaan and said, “But Sufyaan! There is another, more important ‘team’ from which you are missing, and another, more important event that you are missing as well!” Sufyaan was a little confused and asked, “What team Moulana? And what event?”

Moulana replied, “You are missing from the madrasah team, and you are missing from the main event in every Muslim’s life – the five daily salaah in the musjid!” Hearing this, Sufyaan was quiet at first, but then, he said, “But Moulana! It’s important to be fit and healthy, and sports helps me to stay fit and healthy!”

Moulana smiled and said, “Sufyaan! Allah Ta‘ala created us and sent us to this world to worship Him and obey Him. Therefore, being fit and healthy is only important so that a Muslim will have the health and strength to worship and obey Allah Ta‘ala and help others. From this, we understand that if a person is not fit and healthy, but he is obeying Allah and worshiping Ta‘ala, then he is better than the person who is keeping fit and healthy but is not worshiping and obeying Allah Ta‘ala, because he is not using his health and fitness to come closer to Allah Ta‘ala.

“In fact, instead of making Muslims fit and healthy, these sports are causing many Muslims to become injured and hurt. The biggest problem though, is that they are taking Muslims far away from Allah Ta‘ala. At times, short pants are worn when playing sports, such as the shorts worn when playing soccer, and the tights people wear when they cycle. In this way, the knees or even the thighs are exposed, and this is haraam. Even if you are dressed correctly, if the other players are not dressed correctly, and you are there with them, then you will be sinful as well.

“In the same way, music is sometimes played at the sports venue, and people take photos and make videos, and girls and boys mix without any purdah, either when playing or when watching. Then, when someone loses, he becomes angry and starts swearing and fighting. All these are evil sins, and even if you do not take part in these sins, you should not be present in a place and environment where these sins are being committed.”

Thereafter, Moulana said, “Sufyaan! When you become obsessed with playing sports, then you will devote all your time and energy to sports. Instead of coming to the musjid for salaah, you will be in the padel court. Some people are so obsessed with sports that even when it is fajr time, early in the morning, they are at the padel court, or cycling, instead of being in the musjid to perform their salaah with jamaat.

“Then, after playing sport, you will not have any energy or time left for reciting the Qur’aan Majeed, making zikr, or attending deeni programs. This is what is happening with you at the moment – because of sports, you are not coming to madrasah. You have still not learnt to recite the Qur’aan Majeed properly, and have not yet learnt all your basic mas’alahs and duas, so how can you leave madrasah?

“Also, so much of money is wasted on sports. Thousands of Rands are wasted on padel rackets, bicycles and renting courts whereas this money could have been spent on poor family members, or could have at least been saved instead of wasted.”

As Moulana was speaking, Sufyaan and his father were both listening. They had never thought about these points before, and now that Moulana was explaining all these points to them, one by one, they were realizing that sports was definitely causing them to become sinful and was taking them away from Allah Ta‘ala.

Finally, Moulana said to them, “Even worse than the obsession with playing sports is the obsession with following and spectating sports. The reason is that when you spectate and follow sports, then you do not get any benefit at all – not even fitness. If you are watching on TV, then you are committing the haraam and sin of watching TV. If you are in the stadium, then you are in the middle of the non-Muslims who are drinking alcohol, playing music, dressed with the satar area open, and are committing many other sins. How can a Muslim ever be happy to be there?

“Following sports is among the worst evils today, because Muslims are admiring non-Muslims, following them and trying to be like them, whereas Islam teaches us that the non-Muslims are the enemies of Allah Ta‘ala. How can Muslims support the soccer teams of European countries when it is these same countries that are bombing and killing the Muslims in Palestine and in other places?

“How sad it is that we can name all the non-Muslims players of the different teams, but many of us don’t even know the names of all the respected wives of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and his blessed children! Remember – we will be raised on the Day of Qiyaamah with the people we love and follow. Now, let us think over which people we love and follow! Look at how we are dressing and behaving, and let that be the answer!”

By this time, Sufyaan and his father had tears in their eyes. Whatever it was, they had imaan in their hearts, and this made them feel very ashamed of their condition. Everything Moulana had said was the truth and the reality, and because they had sincere and good hearts, they accepted it. They did not make excuses or try to make the wrong into right.

So, from that day, Sufyaan made taubah from his obsession with sports. He stopped watching sports on the TV and going to stadiums to watch matches, and stopped supporting sports teams. Also, he never again let sports prevent him from coming to madrasah or coming to the musjid for salaah, and he never got involved in any sport in any place where sins were being committed.

Lessons:

1. Allah Ta‘ala created us and sent us to this world to worship Him and obey Him. The purpose of creating man is not for engaging in sports.
2. It is important for a Muslim to be fit and healthy so that he will have the health and strength to worship and obey Allah Ta‘ala and help others. From this, we understand that becoming fit and healthy must not take us away from Allah Ta‘ala by causing us to disobey Him through committing sins and not fulfilling our obligations we owe to Him and the creation.
3. It is not permissible for a Muslim to play sports which involve haraam and sins being committed, and where the environment is haraam.
4. Being obsessed with sports means that sports becomes so important to a person that he shows it more importance than obeying Allah Ta‘ala and fulfilling His commands.
5. It is not permissible to watch sports on the TV or go to a stadium to spectate.
6. In life, we should look up to and follow Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), the Sahaabah (radhiyallahu ‘anhum) and our pious predecessors. We must never look up to, admire and follow the non-Muslims or even the Muslims who are open sinners.