The Ruling on Women’s Sports Clubs That Include Swimming and Steam Baths
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. What is the ruling on establishing women’s sports clubs that have areas for practicing swimming and what is called a steam bath? Is it permissible for a woman to go there for the sake of exercise, not for treatment?
The Shaykh:
It is obligatory for the woman to fear Allah and to preserve her modesty and her dignity. It is obligatory for her guardian to protect her. As for expanding into these matters, there is danger in this to the woman’s dignity and the loss of her modesty; there is severe danger. She should protect herself. She bathes in her house and purifies herself in her house, and she does not go to the baths. It has been mentioned to you previously that it is forbidden for her to enter the baths, as in the hadiths. So if she is prohibited from entering the baths, how can she go to these modern things, imitate the men, and mix with women who are not committed, or perhaps a man manages the place? This is a danger, and one must protect the woman. It is obligatory for the woman to protect herself. She should leave these nonsense things and these advertisements that take her away from her dignity and her modesty. They are trying to dissolve the woman and break down the barriers. They say between her and the man, they call them barriers, breaking down the barriers. This is what they want. The Westernized people want this. The woman does not need the baths, she does not need the exercise, she does not need these things. Yes.
The presenter:
He says: Honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh:
If she wants exercise in her house, if she wants to bathe in her house, all of it is available in the houses, and praise be to Allah. Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. What is the ruling on establishing women’s sports clubs that have areas for practicing swimming and what is called a steam bath? Is it permissible for a woman to go there for the sake of exercise, not for treatment?
The Shaykh:
It is obligatory for the woman to fear Allah and to preserve her modesty and her dignity. It is obligatory for her guardian to protect her. As for expanding into these matters, there is danger in this to the woman’s dignity and the loss of her modesty; there is severe danger. She should protect herself. She bathes in her house and purifies herself in her house, and she does not go to the baths. It has been mentioned to you previously that it is forbidden for her to enter the baths, as in the hadiths. So if she is prohibited from entering the baths, how can she go to these modern things, imitate the men, and mix with women who are not committed, or perhaps a man manages the place? This is a danger, and one must protect the woman. It is obligatory for the woman to protect herself. She should leave these nonsense things and these advertisements that take her away from her dignity and her modesty. They are trying to dissolve the woman and break down the barriers. They say between her and the man, they call them barriers, breaking down the barriers. This is what they want. The Westernized people want this. The woman does not need the baths, she does not need the exercise, she does not need these things. Yes.
The presenter:
He says: Honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh:
If she wants exercise in her house, if she wants to bathe in her house, all of it is available in the houses, and praise be to Allah. Yes.
Source
شرح كتاب المنتقى من أخبار المصطفى صلى الله عليه وسلم، بداية من باب الدخول في الماء بغير إزار — islamhouse.com (48:19)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.