AMLA - CRICKET AND FATWA
 A HERO OF SHAITHAAN.

Q.  May I have your views on a South African Muslim cricketer who is being extolled as a hero. Is it proper to call him a hero for playing cricket in England during the month of Ramadhaan and not fasting? What is the Shariah’s ruling regarding this ‘hero’?

A.  The miserable character who is an addict of haraam cricket is astray and the ignorant are being led astray by him. It is a case of a shaitaan being admired by shayaateen. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) had declared all sport haraam. This refers to even sport which is not accompanied by the many haraam acts which the cricketer travelling to England has to perpetrate. Among the major sins he is guilty of are:

· Abandoning the holy month of Ramadhaan for the sake of haraam sport. His abstention from fasting for the sake of haraam sport, riya and prizes is absolutely heinous, despicable and akin to kufr. His Imaan is at such an ebb of degeneration that his brains are clogged with the attitudes and norms of the kuffaar. Just imagine that haraam cricket is more important for him than the glorious month of Ramadhaan. In fact, in view of him having preferred haraam sport over the Fardh obligation of Ramadhaan, there is the grave danger of him having become a murtad – having lost his Imaan with the consequence of even his Nikah becoming invalid.

· Intermingling with the opposite sex

· Viewing women and women viewing him

· Prancing and tripudating like an ape in front of millions of people

· Conveying to the world that cricket is more important than Ramadhaan. Thus, bringing disrepute to the Deen.

· Mingling unnecessarily with the kuffaar on the field, in the dressing rooms and participating in almost all the haraam paraphernalia associated with international sports.

Intentionally  having his photo taken, and exposing himself to haraam photography.

He is undoubtedly a ‘hero’, but of a different kind. He is a hero among the shayaateen and a hero for those who follow Iblees. This character needs to be buried alive and stones and thorns filled into the pit in which he should be thrown.

Travelling for the sake of sport even during other months is haraam. Doing so in this great and glorious month of Ramadhaan is infinitely worse. This character is under divine curse for every moment that he is on the haraam journey among the kuffaar during this auspicious month. Just as the thawaab of good deeds is multiplied manifold in this month, so too is the athaab and curse for sin multiplied in this month of Barkat, Maghfirah and Rahmat.

Men who behave like apes are not heroes for Muslims. Our heroes are the likes of Umar Ibn Khattaab and Khalid Bin Walid (radhiyallahu anhuma) who raised the Flag of Islam on to the hilltops of the world by playing with swords, not  hitting balls and running like monkeys with kuffaar. Our hero's are men such as Sultaan Salaahuddin Ayyubi who conquered Jerusalem from the Crusaders. Our heroes are  valiant sons of Islam like Taarik Ibn Jabal who swam into the Atlantic ocean when he reached  the  furthest edge of Islam’s conquered territories in the west, exclaiming: ‘O Allah! If it was not for this ocean, I would have gone on conquering the world for Your Sake.”    

Our hero, Hadhrat Ali Bin Abi Taalib (radhiyallahu anhu) who said in the thick of a battle:

“The sword and the dagger are our flowers

Confound the daffodil and the myrtle

Our drink is the blood of our enemies

Our cups are the skulls of their heads

   The kuffaar have succeeded in making apes of Muslims, convincing them that it is honourable to hit a ball, to run after a ball and to tripudiate like a baboon when you hit and catch a stupid ball. May Allah Ta’ala save us all from the disasters which our Imaan is  suffering nowadays at the hands of the agents of Iblees.

The Mujlisul Ulama of South Africa

Facilitated by Soulink Lanka............"Verily our duty is to proclaim the clear Message"...

Islam is concerned with man’s well-being in both body and soul. 
Hence it encourages all kinds of sports which strengthen the body and maintain good health as well as provide relaxation and leisure, such as swimming, archery, horse-riding, sword-fighting and wrestling etc. 
All these sports are encouraged by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). 

In the current scenario, being a sportsman and following Islamic tenets has become a huge challenge, but the South African cricketer Hashim Mahomed Amla stands apart and sets a practical example for all the Muslim sports personalities across the globe. 

Hashim Amla was chosen for the provincial team, Nashua Dolphins; captained the under-19 South African team; and was finally selected for the Proteas at the tender age of 21.

But alas, after playing in only two test matches, he was dropped from the squad. 
Amla, mature for his years and firm in his faith said,“Although it was disappointing for me not to do as well as I wanted to, it was taqdeer. I had worked hard to get there, but Allah knows best. This belief helped me overcome the disappointment.”

Amla’s strong belief and commitment towards practicing his religion is commendable. In today’s world where many ‘Muslim’ sportsmen consider alcohol consumption a social necessity, Amla reminds us how easy it is to take a stand, but only if we’re willing to do so. 
Where many people claim that practicing Islam completely is not practical in today’s scenario, Amla has set a practical example. 
Allah says in the Glorious Qur’an, “O you who have believed, enter into Islam completely (and perfectly) and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy.” (Glorious Qur’an 2:208)

When Amla was selected for the South African squad, he asked that he be excused from wearing the logo of an alcoholic beverage sponsor, Castle. 
Castle, a liquor company, sponsors the South African cricket team. 
We can notice ‘Castle’ written on the T-shirts of all players, except one. 
Amla was granted special permission by Cricket South Africa and the sponsors because he refused to wear Castle’s logo as liquor is prohibited in Islam. 
Not only this, he has also decided not to pocket a cent from his match fee. 
And that’s not all; he is also paying $500 monthly as a fine to his cricket board as a ‘punishment’ for not wearing the liquor’s logo on his T-shirt. 

We should stick to our principles and pay whatever price we are asked for it. 
If we have guts and capabilities we can respectfully live without compromising with anyone. 
Islam is for every walk of life and a Muslim can be a sportsman, but he has to be within the limits of Islam. 
May it be wearing T-shirts to promote an alcohol brand or wearing skirts while playing tennis to follow the international guidelines. We need to stand by for what is true rather than falling prey to the financial benefit.


He refused to play in IPL because of immodesty, indecency, unethical, ungentlemanly things, cheer girls and late night IPL parties. 
IPL is nothing but the combination of women exploitation, promotion of alcohol and huge betting. 
IPL teams are being sponsored by alcohol, credit card, banks and insurance companies, such as: 

Royal Challenge Bangalore is sponsored by Royal Challenge, Kingfisher Premium, McDowell’s No.1 and Whyte & Mackey; 
Rajasthan Royals is sponsored by Kingfisher; 
Delhi Daredevils is sponsored by Royal Challenge & Kingfisher Premium; 
Kings XI Punjab is sponsored by Royal Challenge & Carlsberg; 
Deccan Charges is sponsored by Kingfisher Premium & McDowell’s No.1; 
Kolkata Knight Riders is sponsored by Royal Stag; 
Mumbai Indians is sponsored by Master Card, Royal Stag and Kingfisher Premium;
Pune Warriors is sponsored by Max New York Life Insurance and UB Group; and  Kochi team is sponsored by Federal Bank. In spite of all this, we have Yusuf Pathan playing for Kolkata Knight Riders, Zaheer Khan & Mohammed Kaif playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Irfan Pathan playing for Delhi Daredevils and Munaf Patel playing for Mumbai Indians in the previous IPL session. Allah says in the Glorious Qur’an, 
“And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed – then it is those who are the wrongdoers.” (Glorious Qur’an 5:45)

Today. Alcohol has become such an integral part of sports especially cricket that, no victory celebration is complete without a toast of victory, without opening up, drinking, spilling and bathing in champagne. 
The following Hadith suffices to illustrate the need to avoid all things associated with alcohol:  
Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) said: 
“Truly Allah has cursed wine and has cursed the one who produces it, the one for whom it is produced, the one who drinks it, the one who serves it, the one who carries it, the one for whom it is carried, the one who sells it, the one who earns from the sale of it, the one who buys it, and the one for whom it is bought.” (Al Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah)

Hashim Amla’s wife Sumaiyah follows him around the world like wives of other international cricketers. 
His wife wears the full Hijab. 
Most of the time, she is spotted in the stands with the wives and girlfriends of the other team mates. 
Even after such huge success he has continued to carry on with him humble and polite attitude, whereas some other Muslim cricketers have indulged themselves into many kinds of unlawful activities just after getting a little fame and popularity.

Questions about Islam and its practices might have been raised and thus, on and off the field, Amla might have got excellent opportunities for Dawah work. Over the years, he has met with many curious enquiries, specifically from his teammates. Amla remarks, “My teammates have
begun to understand what Islam is, what Muslims do and how we lead our lives.” Praying five times a day, fasting in the month of Ramadan despite the heat, even when playing, has gained him great respect from both Muslims and non-Muslims. Once in an interview he said, “The importance of my religion has increased as I have got older. I couldn’t put a time frame on it but I have found that following the Islamic way of life has a lot of beauty to it. Although I was born into a Muslim family I wasn’t always practicing. The more I have understood the differences in the various faiths, I have adopted as much of Islam as possible. I’m certainly no saint but the discipline of the Islamic way of life has helped my cricket without a doubt. I don’t drink and I pray five times a day, which gives stability to my daily routine.” Hashim Amla epitomizes a rare breed in today’s times, a young man with excellent character.

He is a man who is not afraid of what the society will say but is afraid of what will Allah think? 
For Amla, success comes from balancing worldly activities with deen. 
Amla is surely a role model for Muslim youths and the sports personalities across the globe. 
Today, many Muslim youths are apologetic about their faith, but it is not the case with Hashim Amla. 
On the Day of Judgment we all will be judged according to our adherence to Islam and not by any man made laws. 
Allah says in the Glorious Qur’an, 
“And hold firmly to the rope of Allah.”
(Glorious Qur’an 3:103). The sooner we realise this, the better!