Is judo forbidden in Islam?

 

 

Kōdōkan jūdō and Islam 

Kanō Jigorō started developping Kōdōkan jūdō in 1882. He took great care to ensure that jūdō could be practiced regardless of one’s age, gender, political affiliation, or faith.

Nowadays, over 50 million people practice jūdō. Many of them do so in Muslim nations, or in countries where Muslims are present in significant numbers.

Prophet Muhammadﷺ himself was well versed in hand-to-hand combat, famously confronting and defeating stronger and more skilled opponents.

So, is jūdō forbidden in Islam? Is jūdō haram? Answering these questions can be beneficial for instructors, athletes, and parents alike.

 

Allowed and Forbidden

When defining something as allowed (ḥalāl حلال) or forbidden (ḥarām حَرَام) islamic jurisprudence relies on very precise criteria:

• The Quran, from which the Sharī’a  شريعة derives. (The literal meaning of the word, "way" "path", closely matches the concept of dō 道 in martial arts)
• The ahadith أحاديث, which are anecdotes and stories referring to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ or his companions.

How is it possible to establish whether jūdō is allowed or forbidden?

 

Sunnah and Ahadith

A course of action or a conduct attested in the Prophet or in the first three generations of his followers (Salaf سلف), is considered Sunnah سنة. 

Sunnah indicates that which is a model for all muslims to follow. There are three types of Sunnah:

• Specific words (Sunnah Qawliyyah)
• Habits and practices (Sunnah Fiiliyyah)
• Silent approvals (Sunnah Taqririyyah)

Defining that which is Sunnah very often rests on the tradition of the ahadith, which record what Muhammad ﷺ, or one of His followers in the first three generations, said, did, or silently approved.

Ahadith are classified as true or veritable, acceptable, weak or fabricated. For a hadith  حديث to be considered true, its unbroken transmission through at least three different sources up to one of the first three generations of the followers of Muhammad ﷺ must be demonstrable.

 

Muhammad ﷺ’s fight against Abu Rukana

One of the hadith recorded by al-Shāfiʿī narrates of hand-to-hand combat between the Prophet and a man called Abu Rukana of the Qurayshi. At that time, Abu Rukana hadn’t converted yet, and he challenged Muhammadﷺ to a fight to prove the truth of his message. Despite not as strong or experienced as his opponent, the Prophet managed to throw him on the ground three times, leaving Abu Rukana surprised and confused. In addition, the Prophet demonstrated to Abu Rukana the strength of his faith by causing a nearby gum tree to move towards them at his command, and then return to its original position.

(See the full resource here)

The clash between Muhammad ﷺ and Abu Rukana indicates that the practise of hand-to-hand combat is allowed, in that it is a custom attested in the example of the Prophet. Therefore, jūdō is not haram per se, but the question is more complex than that. The understand the full extent of the problem, it is necessary to delve deeper into the foundations of the Islamic faith.

 

The Five Pillars

The practice of Islam is based upon a set of fundamental actions, known as the Five Pillars:

1. Declaration of faith (Shahāda)
2. Prayer (Salat)   
3. Fasting (Ramaḍān)
4. Almsgiving (Zakat) 
5. Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj), for those who are able to do so.

Prayer occupies a place of special importance in the life of a devout Muslim. It is performed five times a day following well-defined guidelines. Each iteration includes bowing and prostrating for a determined number of times. During prayer, the Muslim believer prostrates to indicate his submission to God, and raises to indicate his God-given task as a custodian of His creation.

 

Ruku (bowing) during prayer

 

Tawḥīd

In Islām, the word tawḥīd توحيد, indicates the absolute oneness of God. As such, God alone is the exclusive object of worship in Islam. During prayer, this concept is symbolized by the act of raising one’s index finger.

 

Since God is the only admissible object of worship, nothing except God can be worshipped or revered without committing the sin shirk شرك, o idolatry.

Here lies the core of the problem. The standing salutation, ritsurei 立礼, or kneeling salutation, zarei 座礼, are extremely similar to the actions performed during prayer. For some of the strictest currents, such as Salafi and Wahhabi, performing a gesture resembling prayer towards another human being is equivalent to committing idolatry, therefore the performance of such actions is prohibited.

 

Sajdah (prostration) during prayer

 

Zarei 座礼 (kneeling salutation) in jūdō

 

Respect and Sportsmanship

In Islam, there is no singular authority endowed with the right to establish an unequivocable position for all the believers, in the way the Pope does for the Catholic Church, or the Dalai Lama for Tibetan Buddhism. Consequently, experts can have very different views with regards to a given topic.

In 2019, an Egyptian expert belonging to the Salafi current, Yasser al-Borhamy, produced a sentence (fatwa) in which he described the practice of martial arts as “an abomination”, because it requires bowing before another human being as a form of salutation.

The Al-Azhar University of Cairo, which is considered the most prestigious Centre for islamic studies in the world and is openly critical of interpretations of Islam that are too extreme, responded through one of its sheikhs, Ahmed al-Bahi. In his answer, al-Bahi clarified that “prostrating with the intention of glorifying a creature in the manner of God is completely prohibited. Muslims must bow down only before God. However, that is not to be confused with the modern intention of bowing between adversaries in some sports, which is considered a sign of respect and a show of sportsmanship”.

 

Conclusion

Is judo forbidden in Islam? In itself, jūdō is not ḥarām because hand-to-hand combat is a custom attested in Muhammad ﷺ, and therefore constitutes Sunnah. The opinion expressed by the Al-Azhar University of Cairo states that there is a difference in intention between bowing before a person to glorify him or her, and bowing as a sign of respect for a companion, so the latter does not constitute idolatry.

 

Until the next time

Acqua Autunnale

 

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