Athletes' attires; into the lizard hole we enter...

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful; blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Reflection

The Declining Day (Al-'Asr)
1. By the declining day,
2. Lo! Man is in a state of loss,
3. Save those who believe and do good works, and exhort 
one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance.

'SYABAS' (congratulation) to Malaysia for becoming champion during the recently concluded SEA Games (KL2017) - hauling 145 gold, 92 silver and 86 bronze medals.

Almost everybody, sector and party were 'happy' and in joy; even government servants had the last hurrah because Monday, September 4th was declared a public holiday enabling them to lengthen their 'off days' after celebrating 'Merdeka' on August 31st and Eid Adha on September 1st.

'Everybody' have and had or shared the 'feel good feeling' - congratulations were pouring in to the Malaysian contingent and leaders! In seemed that 'everything was perfect'...almost nobody dared or paid concern at all to raise specific issues regarding the game.

For this KL2017 I did not see any event on TV except for the football final involving Malaysia and Thailand. But while reading newpapers which was my daily routine, I came across pictures of Malaysian 'Muslimah' athletes especially gymnasts in skimpy outfits - of course this is not the Islamic way of life; perhaps the Western way of life had been accepted openly by our society.

  

Well, in today's world, it is okay to expose one's body under the name of sports. It seemed that this phenomena is accepted by all even by Muslims countries and Muslims themselves. So that's it - Muslims nowadays perhaps were at the feet of 'those' Western 'masters' - we follow their sets of rules.

Regarding how the West treats women, an American woman convert, Iman Daglas in her book, ‘A Well-Guarded Treasure’ (Darussalam) wrote: “People are so eager to simulate the people of the West, while in America and Europe, morals have deteriorated to the point that they no longer exist.

“There people would give anything to reverse the moral decline, yet it is too late. Things have gotten so out of control that there is no turning back. It is truly the most overwhelming problem facing the 21st century.

“Women, especially, are treated with absolutely no respect. To so many men, women are nothing but objects, to use any way they choose. When he is done with her, he just throws her aside and goes on to the next women.

“Women have allowed this to happen, by giving up moral and modesty, by not guarding their chastity and virtue; they have allowed themselves to become nothing more than cheap objects of men's desires.”

Think, O women including gymnasts, when you are young with your ‘solid’ and beautiful bodies; they (the men) would put you on the front cover of their magazines and newspapers or parade you on the red carpet or modeling or performing stage; but when your beauty fades away and skin wrinkle, your body wrecks and shrieks because of old age, only then you realize the truth.

The men would dump you; the same way the leaders of Western world treat women just like sex objects

As for pious Muslimah who feared Allah SWT dan His law; the ‘loss’ in this world (such as unable to take part in some sports because of the dress attire,is nothing because He who rules all the worlds has given this assurance: “And those who have fear of their Lord will be driven to the Garden in companies and when they arrive there, finding its gates open, its custodians will say to them, ‘Peace be upon you! You have done well so enter it timelessly, for ever’.” (Qur’an, 39:73)

Allah SWT also says: “Such people will be repaid for their steadfastness with the Highest Paradise, where they will meet with welcome and with ‘Peace’. (Qur’an 25:75)

Under the name of sports, it seemed that minds of some Muslims had been corrupted into believing and following the footsteps of non believers. They were actually exploiting weakness of the fairer sex in the name of sports and business. Women were mere objects to satisfy their goals. Many women do not realize this fact, their body and beauty were subjected to hungry wolves who were actually taking advantage of their weakness.

Regarding the tendency of Muslims to follow the footsteps of non-believers, a hadith from Bukhari and Muslim, narrated Abu Sa'id, r.a. noted the Prophet peace be upon him (pbuh) said, "Surely, you will follow the ways of those nations who were before you, in everything as one arrow resembles another, (i.e. just like them), so much so that even if they entered a hole of a sand-lizard, you would enter it." 

They said, "O Allah’s Messenger! Do you mean to say that we will follow the Jews and the Christians?" The Prophet (s.a.w.) replied, "Whom else?" (By meaning the Jew and Christians) 

Muslims sportswomen wearing revealing outfits are unacceptable as ‘Muslims, male or female must cover their ‘awrah’. Westerners treat women like filth; sports arena were used as platform to downgrade the fairer sex to the lowest level of mankind.

Western politicians and media criticize Islam as anti-women. They fear the growing trend amongst young, educated women all over the world to embrace Islam to reclaim their rights and dignity. Just about everything that feminists in the West strived for in the ‘70s was already available to Muslim women 1400 years ago.

Regarding women, the Prophet (pbuh) said that, the world and all things in it are valuable; and one of the most valuable in the world is a virtuous woman.

One day a woman asked the Prophet what were her duties towards her husband. To her, he replied: “A wife should not leave her home without her husband’s permission. Women are the twin halves of men.”

God enjoins you to treat women well, for they are your mothers, daughters and aunts.

The rights of women are sacred. See that women are maintained in the rights assigned to them.

When a woman performs the five daily prayers, and fasts in the month of Ramadan, and is chaste, and is not disobedient to her husband, then tell her that she can enter Paradise by whichever door she chooses. 

Shaikh Ibn Uthaimin in Islamic Fatwa Regarding Women says about the proper hijab: "The Islamic hijab is for the woman to cover everything that is forbidden for her to expose. That is, she covers everything that she must cover. The first of those body parts that she must cover is her face. It is the source of temptation and the source of people desiring her..." 

Regarding the attires worn by sportswomen, nowadays it is common for them to don a two piece cloth – one to cover their breasts and the other their private parts – might it be on the beaches (example beach volleyball), fields or tracks.

If sometime such outfits were standard attire of athletes from the Western world and Latin America, nowadays their counterparts from Asia, the Arab world and African nations too leave their trademark ‘singlet and shorts’ and don sexy outfits. This phenomena was obvious during KL2017! To the practicing Muslims 'this new way of life' is 'scary' but almost nobody 'take note'. Everybody was saying 'Syabas, Syabas and Syabas'!

In the pools, on the gymnasium floors, in the fields and almost everywhere the girls are subjected to the standard attire accepted the world over – bare your sexy bodies or ‘you should stay home’.

So it is a must – you must wear those skimpy outfits, if not, don’t ever dream of taking part in any of the events. The majority of the world’s population has nothing to fuss about this development but to the practicing Muslims, these scenarios are totally against the teaching of Allah The Almighty and His Prophet, Muhammad (s.a.w.).

The Western world (such as the organizers of world’s sporting events, the Olympics and World Championship), is leading the human race back into the ‘jahiliah’ (ignorant) period or the dark ages. Women are once again used as sex objects to satisfy men’s lust in the name of sports and other international events and gatherings such as Miss World or Miss Universe pageants.

The problem among practicing Muslims, is that would their women athletes clad in the Islamic dress code be allowed in the pools, on the gymnasium floors or on the fields?

In my opinion if athletes could wear skimpy outfits, then there should be no discrimination for them to wear ‘hijab’ when doing the floor exercises or splashing up in the pools. But no, never has the world seen a Muslim woman gymnast or swimmer in ‘Islamic attire’ taking the gym floor or the swimming pool.

In my opinion, Muslim countries under the umbrella of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) should be serious in sending men and women in Islamic attire to take part in international games. 

Muslim leaders and sportsmen and women should have the guts to challenge the regulations that are against the Islamic teachings imposed on them by the international sports governing bodies for Allah SWT, the Almighty says: “O you who believe! If ye obey the unbelievers, they will drive you back on your heels, and you will turn back (from Faith) to you own loss.” (Qur’an 3: 149).