Issues and Questions

Martial Arts, Court Marriages, He for Allah
By Dr Muzammil H. Siddiqi

Q 1. I am a student of a Korean martial art (TaeKwonDo). During the course of our training we are supposed to “bow” before our instructor, fellow students and the Korean national flag. This bowing action is similar to the “Ruku” position we assume during Salat, except that we do not put our hands on our knees and we do not bend right up to a 90-degree angle. My instructor says that this bowing is merely a symbol of respect to the instructor, fellow students and Korea.
I have heard that a Muslim is not allowed to bow before anybody or anything except Allah. So would it be true to say that I am not allowed to carry out this bowing action in my TaeKwonDo class? Unfortunately my instructor says that I have to bow in class if I am to participate in the TaeKwonDo sessions since this is a standard TaeKwonDo practice. Otherwise I will not be able to continue further with TaeKwonDo. Could you please enlighten me as to what Islam says on this matter.

A 1. There are many Japanese and Korean martial art traditions. Since most of these traditions developed in Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist and Shinto pagan cultures, they have some un-Islamic elements in them. Bowing to the teacher has nothing to do with martial art, but these people want to stick to their cultural traditions and insist that others should also follow them. As Muslims we should learn martial arts, but we must insist that we and our children would never do anything that is un-Islamic.
You have been correctly informed that a Muslim is not allowed to bow before anybody or anything except Allah. We Muslims respect our teachers, our parents, our countries etc. but we do not bow to anyone other than Allah. You should stand firm on this position. If your instructor expels you from the class, because of your refusal to bow before him, then you should consult someone who can help you legally to file a religious discrimination case against this school and against this instructor. If enough Muslims stand up and assert their religious rights, the martial art people may consider changing their pagan custom. Bowing has nothing to do with martial art. People can be great martial artists without bowing to anyone other than Allah.

Q 2. Are Muslims allowed to have court marriages?

A 2. By court marriage, you probably mean civil marriage where a non-Muslim justice of peace or some other official performs the marriage. This marriage is not according to the Sunnah of the Prophet - peace be upon him. The Prophet - peace be upon him - said, “The Nikah is my Sunnah and whosoever dislikes my Sunnah, he/she does not belong to me…” (Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith no. 1836). The Nikah is a religious act and it should be performed with the name of Allah and in the presence of pious and trustworthy witnesses. The person who officiates the marriage should be a Muslim. In this way the family receives the blessings of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. Muslims in non-Muslim countries, if for some reasons have to get married in courts or through non-Muslim authorities, they should try to have an Islamic Nikah ceremony after that as soon as possible.

Q 3. I read your column in Pakistan Link regularly. May Allah give you the reward for the services that you are rendering to the Muslim community. I have a question about which I am really confused. I read in general and in your columns particularly that when we replace the word “Allah” as pronoun we use “He” for Allah. As we all know that Almighty Allah is “Noor” and we cannot determine the gender for Allah, why then do we use the word “He” for Allah in our writings?

A 3. We Muslims do not believe that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is a male or a female. Allah is the Creator of everything and is beyond any gender or similitude. Allah does not incarnate, neither in the form of a male nor in the form of a female. Allah is not called in Islam “Father” or “Mother”. Allah is the Rabb of the worlds. The Qur’an says clearly, “There is nothing like Allah.” However, the Qur’an itself has used the pronouns “Huwa, Hu, Lahu etc. (He, Him, His etc.) for Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. Thus it is allowed for us to use this pronoun, but we must never think that this identifies Allah with the male gender. We should say that this pronoun is used generally for males, but it is also used for the Being who is beyond the male and male. Since the Qur’an has not used the pronouns “hiya, ha or laha” (She or Her) for Allah, it is Haram to use these pronouns for the Divine being. The pronoun “It” does not exist in Arabic language; and it is certainly against the Qur’anic concept of the Divinity. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is a not a thing, but a Being with Qualities and Attributes.
Muslims always believed in Allah as the Being beyond maleness or femaleness. When Muslims used the pronoun “He” for Allah, it never occurred to them that they were talking about a man. Muslims never made a picture of Allah. They knew that it was Haram to depict Allah in any form or person.
There are nowadays some people who are very sensitive about the gender issue. New unisex or gender free translations of the Bible have appeared and some Muslims are also being affected with this trend. But we must understand that we do not have the same problem that is being faced by Christian theology or by the translators of the Bible. Christianity in general and even Judaism to some extent are both anthropomorphic in their concepts of God. Christians always call God the Father and they speak about God’s son (a male incarnation of God). Jews too use the term Father for God. Thanks to our Islamic concept of Tawhid, we do not have this problem.

Q 4. My question to you is regarding “laughing a lot, smiling” etc. I do not have the exact reference for you right now, but in one of the magazines that I read sometime back there was a small Hadith regarding this matter. I did not understand it at all. It was to some effect like this that the one who laughs a lot, (I am not sure, may be unnecessarily) will be in trouble with Allah. I don’t mean any disrespect, Naudhobillah. Please help me understand this matter. My personality is such that I laugh a lot and make people laugh. Is there anything wrong with that?

A 4. There is nothing wrong with laughing as such. However, there is good laughing and there is bad laughing. There are right occasions to laugh and there are wrong occasions to laugh. Also like any thing else laughing should be with balance and in moderation.
In the Qur’an Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala tells us that it is He who makes people laugh and He make them cry (al-Najm 53:43). Allah has also mentioned all kinds of laughing. Good people laugh. Prophet Abraham’s wife Sarah - may Allah be pleased with both of them - laughed when the angels gave the good news to Abraham that she would bear a son (Hud, 11:71). Prophet Sulaiman - may Allah be pleased with him - laughed when he was able to understand the ants and their movement (al-Naml 27:19). It is mentioned that the people of paradise will laugh and be happy (‘Abasa 80:29). But the Qur’an condemns those who laugh at the word of Allah, meaning those who ridicule the words of Allah (al-Najm 53:60). The Qur’an also condemns those who laugh at Allah’s Prophets, Messengers and at the righteous people. (Al-Mu’minun 23:110)
Similarly we have hundreds of Ahadith about laughing. It is mentioned in some Ahadith that even Allah laughs and smiles on occasions. There is a beautiful Hadith in al-Bukahri in which it is mentioned that a man will make Allah laugh on the Day of Judgment and Allah will send him to Jannah. (See al-Bukhari, Hadith no. 6885) The Prophet - peace be upon him - was the most smiling person. He used to laugh but without open mouth except on some occasions the Sahabah said that he laughed until his teeth were seen. Imam al-Tirmidhi mentioned a Hadith that says that Prophet - peace be upon him - laughed while he was at the Minbar and he told the Sahabah a story. (Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2179). The Prophet - peace be upon him - was a very pleasant person. Sometime he used to make his listeners laugh and feel happy. The books of Ahadith have many beautiful jokes or anecdotes (nawadir) of the Prophet - peace be upon him.
However, it must be remembered that the Prophet - peace be upon him - never told a false story to make people laugh. He forbade and condemned those who tell lies in order to make others laugh. It is also mentioned in the Ahadith that too much laughing kills the consciousness and takes away the dignity of a person. So the laughing should be with moderation and balance. A Muslim should be a serious person but also a pleasant person.

-DrSiddiqi@aol.com

Editor: Akhtar M. Faruqui
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