Why Playing Professional Football in Not Haram For Males
C.J Ahmed-06.05.2023
Playing professional football has become not only a sport but also a great way of making money. There ar many world class male footballers who are making a living out of this sport but unfortunately, impractical and dogmatic fatwas has caused a lot of stress to the Muslim community. Islam has never prohibited football or any other sport and in fact the prophet (sal) himself played games with his companions.
Aisha (rali) said “"I saw the Prophet (sal) and the Ethiopians were playing with their spears." (Bukhari)
The argument against playing football is that men who play professional sports such as football generally uncover their thighs but this argument is wrong. Uncovering the thigh is not haram for men.
The hadiths Proving That the Thigh is Not an Awrah is as follows.
Narrated by Aisha (rali):
"The Prophet was sitting with his thigh exposed when Abu Bakr asked, and received permission to enter. The same thing happened with 'Umar. However, when Uthman sought permission to enter, the Prophet covered himself with his clothes. When they left, I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, you permitted Abu Bakr and 'Umar to enter while your thigh was exposed. When 'Uthman asked permission to enter, you covered yourself with your clothes.' He said, 'O 'Aishah, should I not be shy of a man who, by Allah, even the angels are shy of'?"
(Bukhari,Muslim and others)
Some argue that in the above hadith, the narrator was not shure whether the prophet (sal) uncovered his thigh or his shank But the below hadiths clearly mention that the prophet (sal) uncovered his thigh to everyone implying the thigh is not an awrah.
Anas (Rali) Narrates:
"During the battle of Khaibar, the Prophet's gown was withdrawn from his thigh until I could see its whiteness."
(Bukhari)
If the thigh was an awrah the prophet (sal) would have never exposed his awrah like this. The other hadth is as below
Abu'l-'Aliyat al-Bara Narrated:
"Ibn Ziyad delayed the prayer. 'Abdullah b. Samit came to me and I placed a chair for him and he sat in it and I made a mention of whit Ibn Ziyad had done. He bit hit lips (as a sign of extreme anger and annoyance) and struck at my thigh and said: I asked Abu Dharr as you have asked me, and he struck my thigh just as I have struck your thigh, and said: I asked the Messenger of Allah (Sal) as you have asked me and he struck my thigh just as I have struck your thigh, and he ( Prophet (Sal)) said: Observe prayer at its prescribed time, and if you can say prayer along with them. do so, and do not say." I have observed prayer and so I shall not pray."
(Sahih Muslim)
If the thigh was the awrah the prophet (sal) would have not touched it. Based on these evidences it is very clear that the thigh is not an awrah and this view was supported by scholars like sheikh Salih al Uthaymin,Ibn Jareer,Ibn Hazm and others.
Salih al Munajjid’s Wrong Fatwa and My Refutation
. The awrah for men in front of men is only the private parts and all the other areas can be exposed with no issues.
There was a very wrong fatwa issued in the website Islam qa which have brought forward the argument that the man's awrah is between the navel to the knees. This website is run by Salih al Munajjid who has extreme views in Islam which are Khariji in it's leanings. The arguments he has mentioned is as follows,
"There are many ahaadeeth which indicate that a man’s ‘awrah is the area between the navel and the knee (and the navel and knee are not part of the ‘awrah). See al-Majmoo’, 3/173; al-Mughni, 2/286 These ahaadeeth include the following:
1 – Abu Dawood (3140) and Ibn Maajah (1460) narrated that ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not show your thigh, and do not look at the thigh of anyone, living or dead.”
2 – Ahmad (21989) narrated that Muhammad ibn Jahsh (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed by Ma’mar when I was with him, and his thighs were uncovered. He said: “O Ma’mar, cover your thighs, for the thigh is ‘awrah.”
3 – Ahmad (15502), Abu Dawood (4014) and al-Tirmidhi (2798) narrated from Jawhad al-Aslami that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed by him when his thigh was uncovered and he said: “Do you not know that the thigh is ‘awrah?”
4 – al-Tirmidhi (2798) narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The thigh is ‘awrah.”
Shaykh al-Albaani said concerning these ahaadeeth in al-Irwa’(1/297):
Although their isnaads are not entirely free of weakness, they strengthen one another, because there is no narrator among them who may be regarded as suspicious, rather their weakness has to do with confusion and ambiguity. And there are similar reports which make one confident that the hadeeth is saheeh, especially since some of them were classed as saheeh by al-Haakim, and al-Dhahabi agreed with him. And al-Bukhaari narrated it in a mu’allaq report in his Saheeh… But a number of these isnaads give the hadeeth strength, and raise it to the level of being saheeh, especially sincere there are similar, corroborating reports on the same issue. End quote.
It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (6/165):
Even though there is some weakness in the isnaads of these ahaadeeth, as there are gaps in the chain of narrators or there is some weakness in some of the narrators, nevertheless they support one another, and when taken as a whole they provide the required evidence. End quote.
The majority of fuqaha’ are of the view that these ahaadeeth should be followed and they stated that a man’s ‘awrah is from the navel to the knee. See al-Mughni, 2/284"
(Source-https://islamqa.info/en/answers/34976/the-evidence-that-a-mans-awrah-is-from-the-navel-to-the-knee)
In this fatwa of Salih al Munajjid, he brinngs in hadiths which he himself accepts as questionable and tries to use the old trick in the book which is to say that it corroborates with other hadiths. Now the uestion is, with what hadiths do the you corroborate? Even if we agree that some of these hadiths are authentic according to some scholars, we have to look at hadiths which indicate that the naval is not an awrah for men to understand the broader picture of this argument. There is clear evidence from the Sunnah which shows that the prophet (sal) accepted two opposing arguments if they were in the Sunnah. There is a hadith reported in both Bukhari and Muslim in which the prophet Muhammad (sal) ordered his companions after the battle of Al-Ahzab saying, “No one of you should pray Asr until you reach the village of Bani-Quraiza (A Jewish tribe). The hadith is as follows,
Narrated Ibn Umar (rali):
“On the day of Al-Ahzab (i.e. Clans) the Prophet said, "None of you Muslims) should offer the 'Asr prayer but at Banu Quraiza's place." The 'Asr prayer became due for some of them on the way. Some of those said, "We will not offer it till we reach it, the place of Banu Quraiza," while some others said, "No, we will pray at this spot, for the Prophet did not mean that for us." Later on it was mentioned to the Prophet and he did not berate any of the two groups.”
(Bukhari)
Aisha (rali) narrated a similar narration stating:
”While they were on their way, the time of Asr came. Some companions said we should not pray until we reach Bani-Quraiza. Others said we should pray Asr now because the Prophet (S.A.W.) did not mean for us to leave the Asr prayer, but he wanted us to be in a hurry. So some of the companions prayed ASR, while others continued on until they reached Bani-Quraiza after sunset. When they went back to the Prophet, they mentioned to him the story; He accepted the action of all of them."
(Bukhari and Muslim)
This clearly shows that the prophet (sal) accepted both the actions of two groups of the companions because both of them prayed Asr prayer according to the Sunnah of the prophet (sal). Similarly the evidence showing that the thigh is not an awrah should also be accepted as well. What needs to be understood is that both are correct but Islam encourages leniency and lenient view of drinking while standing is what is more correct. Aisha (rali) narrated,
“Whenever Allah's Messenger (sal) was given the choice of one of two matters, he would choose the easier of the two, as long as it was not sinful to do so, but if it was sinful to do so, he would not approach it. Allah's Messenger (sal) never took revenge (over anybody) for his own sake but (he did) only when Allah's Legal Bindings were outraged in which case he would take revenge for Allah's Sake.” (Sahih-Al-Bukhari)
The awrah for men in front of men us the same as that women and that is the private parts.
Narrated Abu Sa'id al-Khudri:
The Prophet (sal) said: A man should not look at the private parts of another man, and a woman should not look at the private parts of another woman. A man should not lie with another man without wearing lower garment under one cover; and a woman should not be lie with another woman without wearing lower garment under one cover. (Abu Dawud-Authenticated by Albani)
Conclusion
Playing professional football is not haram for both men and women and the fatwas given against men and women playing football is given using ones bias worldview and not based on studying the whole picture in Islam.
Playing professional football has become not only a sport but also a great way of making money. There ar many world class male footballers who are making a living out of this sport but unfortunately, impractical and dogmatic fatwas has caused a lot of stress to the Muslim community. Islam has never prohibited football or any other sport and in fact the prophet (sal) himself played games with his companions.
Aisha (rali) said “"I saw the Prophet (sal) and the Ethiopians were playing with their spears." (Bukhari)
The argument against playing football is that men who play professional sports such as football generally uncover their thighs but this argument is wrong. Uncovering the thigh is not haram for men.
The hadiths Proving That the Thigh is Not an Awrah is as follows.
Narrated by Aisha (rali):
"The Prophet was sitting with his thigh exposed when Abu Bakr asked, and received permission to enter. The same thing happened with 'Umar. However, when Uthman sought permission to enter, the Prophet covered himself with his clothes. When they left, I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, you permitted Abu Bakr and 'Umar to enter while your thigh was exposed. When 'Uthman asked permission to enter, you covered yourself with your clothes.' He said, 'O 'Aishah, should I not be shy of a man who, by Allah, even the angels are shy of'?"
(Bukhari,Muslim and others)
Some argue that in the above hadith, the narrator was not shure whether the prophet (sal) uncovered his thigh or his shank But the below hadiths clearly mention that the prophet (sal) uncovered his thigh to everyone implying the thigh is not an awrah.
Anas (Rali) Narrates:
"During the battle of Khaibar, the Prophet's gown was withdrawn from his thigh until I could see its whiteness."
(Bukhari)
If the thigh was an awrah the prophet (sal) would have never exposed his awrah like this. The other hadth is as below
Abu'l-'Aliyat al-Bara Narrated:
"Ibn Ziyad delayed the prayer. 'Abdullah b. Samit came to me and I placed a chair for him and he sat in it and I made a mention of whit Ibn Ziyad had done. He bit hit lips (as a sign of extreme anger and annoyance) and struck at my thigh and said: I asked Abu Dharr as you have asked me, and he struck my thigh just as I have struck your thigh, and said: I asked the Messenger of Allah (Sal) as you have asked me and he struck my thigh just as I have struck your thigh, and he ( Prophet (Sal)) said: Observe prayer at its prescribed time, and if you can say prayer along with them. do so, and do not say." I have observed prayer and so I shall not pray."
(Sahih Muslim)
If the thigh was the awrah the prophet (sal) would have not touched it. Based on these evidences it is very clear that the thigh is not an awrah and this view was supported by scholars like sheikh Salih al Uthaymin,Ibn Jareer,Ibn Hazm and others.
Salih al Munajjid’s Wrong Fatwa and My Refutation
. The awrah for men in front of men is only the private parts and all the other areas can be exposed with no issues.
There was a very wrong fatwa issued in the website Islam qa which have brought forward the argument that the man's awrah is between the navel to the knees. This website is run by Salih al Munajjid who has extreme views in Islam which are Khariji in it's leanings. The arguments he has mentioned is as follows,
"There are many ahaadeeth which indicate that a man’s ‘awrah is the area between the navel and the knee (and the navel and knee are not part of the ‘awrah). See al-Majmoo’, 3/173; al-Mughni, 2/286 These ahaadeeth include the following:
1 – Abu Dawood (3140) and Ibn Maajah (1460) narrated that ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not show your thigh, and do not look at the thigh of anyone, living or dead.”
2 – Ahmad (21989) narrated that Muhammad ibn Jahsh (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed by Ma’mar when I was with him, and his thighs were uncovered. He said: “O Ma’mar, cover your thighs, for the thigh is ‘awrah.”
3 – Ahmad (15502), Abu Dawood (4014) and al-Tirmidhi (2798) narrated from Jawhad al-Aslami that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed by him when his thigh was uncovered and he said: “Do you not know that the thigh is ‘awrah?”
4 – al-Tirmidhi (2798) narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The thigh is ‘awrah.”
Shaykh al-Albaani said concerning these ahaadeeth in al-Irwa’(1/297):
Although their isnaads are not entirely free of weakness, they strengthen one another, because there is no narrator among them who may be regarded as suspicious, rather their weakness has to do with confusion and ambiguity. And there are similar reports which make one confident that the hadeeth is saheeh, especially since some of them were classed as saheeh by al-Haakim, and al-Dhahabi agreed with him. And al-Bukhaari narrated it in a mu’allaq report in his Saheeh… But a number of these isnaads give the hadeeth strength, and raise it to the level of being saheeh, especially sincere there are similar, corroborating reports on the same issue. End quote.
It says in Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (6/165):
Even though there is some weakness in the isnaads of these ahaadeeth, as there are gaps in the chain of narrators or there is some weakness in some of the narrators, nevertheless they support one another, and when taken as a whole they provide the required evidence. End quote.
The majority of fuqaha’ are of the view that these ahaadeeth should be followed and they stated that a man’s ‘awrah is from the navel to the knee. See al-Mughni, 2/284"
(Source-https://islamqa.info/en/answers/34976/the-evidence-that-a-mans-awrah-is-from-the-navel-to-the-knee)
In this fatwa of Salih al Munajjid, he brinngs in hadiths which he himself accepts as questionable and tries to use the old trick in the book which is to say that it corroborates with other hadiths. Now the uestion is, with what hadiths do the you corroborate? Even if we agree that some of these hadiths are authentic according to some scholars, we have to look at hadiths which indicate that the naval is not an awrah for men to understand the broader picture of this argument. There is clear evidence from the Sunnah which shows that the prophet (sal) accepted two opposing arguments if they were in the Sunnah. There is a hadith reported in both Bukhari and Muslim in which the prophet Muhammad (sal) ordered his companions after the battle of Al-Ahzab saying, “No one of you should pray Asr until you reach the village of Bani-Quraiza (A Jewish tribe). The hadith is as follows,
Narrated Ibn Umar (rali):
“On the day of Al-Ahzab (i.e. Clans) the Prophet said, "None of you Muslims) should offer the 'Asr prayer but at Banu Quraiza's place." The 'Asr prayer became due for some of them on the way. Some of those said, "We will not offer it till we reach it, the place of Banu Quraiza," while some others said, "No, we will pray at this spot, for the Prophet did not mean that for us." Later on it was mentioned to the Prophet and he did not berate any of the two groups.”
(Bukhari)
Aisha (rali) narrated a similar narration stating:
”While they were on their way, the time of Asr came. Some companions said we should not pray until we reach Bani-Quraiza. Others said we should pray Asr now because the Prophet (S.A.W.) did not mean for us to leave the Asr prayer, but he wanted us to be in a hurry. So some of the companions prayed ASR, while others continued on until they reached Bani-Quraiza after sunset. When they went back to the Prophet, they mentioned to him the story; He accepted the action of all of them."
(Bukhari and Muslim)
This clearly shows that the prophet (sal) accepted both the actions of two groups of the companions because both of them prayed Asr prayer according to the Sunnah of the prophet (sal). Similarly the evidence showing that the thigh is not an awrah should also be accepted as well. What needs to be understood is that both are correct but Islam encourages leniency and lenient view of drinking while standing is what is more correct. Aisha (rali) narrated,
“Whenever Allah's Messenger (sal) was given the choice of one of two matters, he would choose the easier of the two, as long as it was not sinful to do so, but if it was sinful to do so, he would not approach it. Allah's Messenger (sal) never took revenge (over anybody) for his own sake but (he did) only when Allah's Legal Bindings were outraged in which case he would take revenge for Allah's Sake.” (Sahih-Al-Bukhari)
The awrah for men in front of men us the same as that women and that is the private parts.
Narrated Abu Sa'id al-Khudri:
The Prophet (sal) said: A man should not look at the private parts of another man, and a woman should not look at the private parts of another woman. A man should not lie with another man without wearing lower garment under one cover; and a woman should not be lie with another woman without wearing lower garment under one cover. (Abu Dawud-Authenticated by Albani)
Conclusion
Playing professional football is not haram for both men and women and the fatwas given against men and women playing football is given using ones bias worldview and not based on studying the whole picture in Islam.