WHAT IS THE ISLAMIC STANCE ON OBESITY? Trackback URL for this blog entry. Abu Ruqayyah ( View Google Profile ) Moderator Find us on Google+ eaalim Authors recent posts The Advice of Sufyan At-Thawri (rh) - All 22 Nov Change Yourself Not Islam! - All 14 Nov What is the Islamic Stance on Obesity? - All 07 Nov 09 nov Font size: Hits: 6669 Comments Subscribe to this entry Umar bin Al Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) would encourage exercise and didn’t like obesity, in fact he was against obesity. He said, O People! Beware of overeating because it makes you lazy in your prayer, it makes your body weak and makes you unhealthy and Allah dislikes the obese man. And you should be modest in your food because that is closer to righteousness and further from excess and makes you stronger in worshipping Allah. And you will perish when your desires become more dearer to you than Allah (azza wajal) or your religion. When we talk about obesity we mean obesity caused by overeating and not by health reasons because some people genetically have obesity. We don’t want anyone to assume because Allah (swt) created him or her like that Allah does not like them. We are discussing obesity caused by overeating and that is unhealthy, however if you are overweight even it is caused by genetic reasons try to lose weight and exercise. Allah prefers a strong believer over a weak believer although there is good in both, so in the eyes of Allah a strong and healthy Muslim who stands up and prays is better than the one who has to sit down and pray. Allah prefers someone who l oves to pray, fast, make dhikr , and perform the rest of the acts of worship, and is more active in seeking after these affairs, and keeps a closer watch over his performance of them. The evidence for this is when the Prophet (salalahu ‘alyhi wasalam) said: “The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allâh than the weak believer, while there is good in both.” As-Suyûtî gathered it in ‘al-Jâmi’us-Saghîr , and al-Albânî numbered it #6650 and called it ‘hasan’ . He traced it to Sahîh Muslim, Ibn Mâjah, and Ahmad. Sometimes people tend to laugh at those who are overweight and this is not the character of a Muslim to laugh at peoples wrongdoings or people who are genetically obese. Al-Fudayl b. `Iyad said, Whoever sees a wrongdoing from his brother and then laughs in front of him has betrayed him. If it is forbidden to laugh at someone who becomes obese from overeating, for a greater reason it is forbidden to laugh at someone who is genetically obese or has some medical condition. There is a saying and don’t take it literally, that the signs of dignity and wisdom are three: 1. A moustache 2. A bold head 3. A big belly Obviously this is not true!, also in the old books in Al Mustadraf, it says they asked a Bedouin, ‘When do you know you have eaten enough?’ He replied, “When I cannot tell the difference between the heavens and earth, between the Nafl and Fardh and between length and height, that is when I have had enough food.” A man came to Umar bin Al Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) and he had a big belly, Umar asked him, What is this?’ The man replied, It is a blessing from Allah! Umar said, No, its a punishment from Allah!. Umar bin Al Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) said, Teach your children swimming, target shooting and horse riding. Subhanallah, swimming is the best form of exercise for toning your muscle. Umar had some amazing teachings; he once sent a letter to a Sahabah up north in Azerbaijan, he had a feeling that maybe they had indulged into a comfortable life. Umar was carrying on the military tradition that was started by Muhammad (salalahu ‘alyhi wasalam) . Military life was the life of the Sahabah’s (May Allah be pleased with them), it wasn’t a civilian life, rather it was a life of a solider, a life with the military, and because Umar thought they were getting used to civilian life, he assumed they were leaving the life of the Murabiteen . The letter says: Imam Al Bukhari rahimahullah narrated from Abu Utsman An-Nahdiy (May Allah be pleased with him), he said: “The message of Umar bin Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) has come to us and we were with Utbah bin Farqod (May Allah be pleased with him) , we were conducting Jihad in Azerbaijan, and in the letter or writing of Umar bin Khattab, it was written: “Amma ba’du… Wear the izar (wrapper/sarung), wear the sandals, wear the rida (outer wrapping garment/shawl), and throw away the shoes and long trousers. Wear the clothing of your father, Ismail, shun luxury living and wear the clothes of the people of Ajam (non-Arab). Bask in the sun because it is a warm water bath of the Arabs. Have a rough lifestyle, have a shabby look, walk barefoot, do not get into the habit of riding (train for a long distance walk). Play with the horse with agility (jump on the horse while it is running), practice target shooting and walk (fast) between the two (from the firing position to the firing target).” (Sunan Al-Kubra Al-Baihaqi, 10/14). Umar bin Al Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) encouraged exercise, but training that will keep them fit and healthy to the extent that he told them to jump on horses while they are running and also to walk fast while shooting arrows. Not only were they training but also exercising with running and walking fast. It was said Hudhayfah bin Yaman (May Allah be pleased with him) would run. Today, horses have been replaced with motor vehicles, so when Umar mentioned dont get into a habit of riding horses, it means do not drive your cars as much and instead walk long distances regularly. Living a rough life may start with trying to sleep on the floor, and try not to be so concerned with how you look all the time, looking shabby is a good thing. These are lessons he is sending to his military generals; the generals that tend to develop a big belly. When he said to walk bearfoot it does not mean to walk bearfoot all the time but sometimes, so they get the training to not always be under the shade, and encourage them to go under the sun and get a tan. Maybe sisters will not believe this but sometimes brothers will intentionally stay indoors so that they would not develop a tan, don’t worry brothers you will find a wife! So stand under the sun, because this is the bath of the Arabs. The Greeks and the Romans had these luxurious baths, but Umar is saying our bath is the sun, and these were strict orders to keep the military tradition alive. Narrated by Abu Huraira: A man used to eat much, but when he embraced Islam, he started eating less. This was mentioned to the Prophet (salalahu ‘alyhi wasalam) who then said, A believer eats in one intestine (is satisfied with a little food) and a Kafir (disbeliever) eats in seven intestines (eats much). Bukhari On seeing a fat man, the Prophet (salalahu ‘alyhi wasalam) said : “If you did not have a paunch (belly fat), it would be better for you”. He also said: “Overeating does not go with good health.” [Al-Haythami] In summary, amongst the causes of weak faith is overeating, which leads to sleeping a lot and has a detrimental effect in your worship to Allah, laziness in your prayer, makes your body weak and unhealthy. The decline and unfortunate circumstances the Ummah is faced with today in Muslim lands is because our desires are more dearer to us than Allah (Azza wajal) and our religion, Al-Islam. The Prophet (salalahu ‘alyhi wasalam) said: “The one who is physically healthy, safe in his community and is sufficiently nurtured will possess the whole world.” (Tirmidhi) We end with a saying of Umar bin Al Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him): “To eat less is healthy, to speak less is wisdom, and to sleep less is worship.” You have permission to share this article/post without changing the meaning of the contents. If you or your children are interested in learning Arabic, Tajweed or Islamic Studies online see more at: Eaalim.Com
Posted on: Sat, 30 Nov 2013 19:56:47 +0000
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