During a recent fundraiser for Muslim women athletes, I came across people with a particular interpretation of Shariah that believed Muslim women participating in sports in public is unlawful (unIslamic or haraam).
According to their beliefs Muslim women may participate in sports and exercise but behind closed doors, out of public view. This is because "Muslim women must not display themselves nor make a spectacle of themselves in public". Presumably for reasons of modesty.
Now there are many organisations that have formed to cater for this very need. They organise sports and exercise programmes complete with trained female referees, linesman and ensure sealed venues for tournaments and practice sessions. They go through a lot of trouble to ensure the proper conditions are met before the female athletes do their thing. The Muslim Women Sports Foundation (MWSF) in the UK functions like this.
But let's think through this a little more and let's look at things a little more closely, by asking a simple question:
IF it was haraam or unlawful for women to participate in sports and exercise in public, would that make walking in parks, streets, beaches in order to lose weight or increase fitness unIslamic for women?
The answer lies in that question.
It's common Islamic knowledge that women are allowed to walk in public (although I suppose the same group above, would probably argue otherwise) otherwise why the commandment to cover ourselves when in public?
So if our intention is to walk for exercise, it doesn't change the rules. A woman walking for exercise appears no different than a woman walking to get to her destination. She is hardly making a spectacle of herself, and provided she is covered her modesty is still intact.
Let's think through anther question:
IF we had to abide by this rule of practicing all sports and fitness indoors or out of public view, how would we do that?
I know the MWSF goes to great lengths to ensure there are female-only venues for their participants. They do good work and have done a great deal in developing Muslim women's sports.
BUt they achieve this at the organisational level. What about the woman with fitness goals at the individual level?
I really like the idea of not having to rely on any person or anything (besides Allah (SWT)) in my daily life. I love the idea of exercising using only your body and no equipment. I love making use of what I have instead of purchasing advertised goods.
Everything we need to live a fulfilled happy life is provided to us by Allah. When you detach yourselves from the need to have advertised goods and services, you may come to find that you really do not need that much to be happy.
Health is part of that happiness, and it is achievable through the simplest things in life. Veggies are very easy to grow than most plants. Perhaps there's a reason for that - because we rely so much on these foods for their minerals and vitamins to support our bodies. A few seeds can start a whole veggie patch in a matter of months. Not to mention, many foods grow wild too. And you could live quite healthily on that. Meat and fish come from the wild and it is only through commercialization of these commodities that we believe we have to have money to have these things.
When I was young I remember going with my uncle to a dam, and using a coke can and some gut wire, we got fish spending nothing else but our efforts.
This is the level of simplicity that I want to get to, in order to discuss the third question above: How would the woman with fitness goals at the individual level do it under those shariah rules?
She could do it in her home. But this limits her to strength training only using a body-only workout.
Sure she could do aerobic exercise at home too, on a treadmill or with a workout video. But remember, that involves purchasing advertised goods.
And that takes us away from our level of simplicity.
At a basic level of living, we grow our own food, we catch our own fish in non-commercialized fishing spots so no need to pay license fees, and we exercise by walking or running in open areas such as beaches, fields or even in the streets.
No extra money spent. Simply using what is already there ie beaches, fields and streets. And did you know that running barefoot on beach sand not only gives you aerobic exercise but some strength training for your legs as you have to push off while your feet sink into the sand? How's that for natural training at the basic level?
Now, after discussing all this, does it still make sense that women cannot participate in sports and exercise in public? Islam does not deny us health and fitness. I discussed this at the basic level of simplicity to accommodate for all kinds of people, eliminating money out of the equation, because I wanted to show that to abide by the above Shariah rule of practicing sports indoors requires additional monetary investment. This is not something readily available to most people and most communities.
Communities would have to invest in sports halls for women only. Something I applaud Iran for doing. But could India, Somalia or Mexico do the same?
Women would have to purchase treadmills or women-only gym memberships to run indoors, but again can the woman who earns less than $1 a day do the same?
The moulana who told me it was haraam for women to participate in public sports, also told me that there are now women-only gyms, and home-fitness machines making it possible for women to abide by this rule. By his own admission, it takes these modern day commercialized goods and services to abide by this rule. Let me ask again: What about those who cannot afford it?
Health is not a privilege nor the result of having wealth. It is a basic necessity for living. And it is accessible to all.
The woman who earns nothing, owns nothing, has no family nor community, can run in the park, on the beach, in the streets for her health. And she can do it in her chador, abaya; barefoot or with socks on if she believes in covering her feet too. Now why would Shariah deny us this?
I don't think it does.
IMPORTANT NOTE: There are many scholars (in my opinion, a majority) whose interpretation of Quran and Sunnah permit women to participate in sports in public. Even the Moulana / Imam who told me it was haram, said that there are different schools of thought on this issue, and that many would not agree with him. This is my own discussion and I am not a qualified scholar on Islam. Please always consult knowledgeable people with pure intentions on Islamic issues and matters of faith.
