Practicing body building
Fatwa No: 101619

Question

is bobybuilding and excercice is permissable in Islam ? what r authentic hadith regarding excercise & health building ? r proteen supplement allowed ?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

 

In principle, practising body building is permissible like all other kinds of sports, and a person may even be rewarded for practising it if he intends, by doing so, to build a healthy body in order to strengthen himself for the obedience of Allaah and to strive in His Cause.

With regard to the sport exercises and strengthening one's health, many reports prove that the Prophet practiced it. For examples he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, raced with 'Aa'ishah twice in two different incidents.

‘Abdur-Razzaaq reported that 'Umar raced with people at Al-Mukhammas, in 'Usfaan, and 'Umar won the race. Then, the companions raced for the second time, and Ibn Az-Zubayr defeated 'Umar . Moreover, 'Umar allowed Salamah Ibn Al-Akwa' to race with a man from the Ansaar on their way back to Madeenah from one of the battles, and Al-Akwa' won the race.

On the other hand, the doctors stated that walking is a kind of sport which gives strength to the body. They also stated that among the things by which one preserves his good health is to exhaust it to some extent.

The above is a list of some narrations which prove that sport is permissible.

Consuming proteins is permissible provided:

*       It is free from any intoxicants.

*       It is free from forbidden ingredients, like pork  or any other impure item.

*       It does not harm the body.

If these proteins are free from the above prohibitions, then it is permissible to consume them as in principle all kinds of food are permissible.

We would like to bring to your attention that body building sportsmen usually reveal their 'Awrah (parts of the body that must be covered in Islam), and this is undoubtedly forbidden. The 'Awrah of a man is from the navel to the knee, and he is not allowed to reveal it to other than his wife. Similarly, he is not permitted to look at other people’s 'Awrah.

For more benefit on the conditions of practising sport, please refer to Fatwa 82677, and to Fatwa 88250 on the prohibition of revealing one's thighs when playing football.

Allaah Knows best.

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