What is the ruling on watching sports matches, and is it true that Shaykh al-Uthaymeen permits looking at the thigh?

The questioner : He says: Your Eminence, a discussion took place between me and a young man who prays. I hope you will settle the matter between us, not for the sake of self-justification, but in search of the truth for me and for him. I said to him, "My brother, it is not permissible for you to waste your time watching these matches. You are accountable to Allah the Exalted for this time. Even if we assume that watching them is permissible, they contain enough prohibitions to render them forbidden. Among these is the music, drums, and the like that often accompany them. Second, the attachment to the images of young men and individuals, and seeing their thighs. Third, being preoccupied with the congregation and not praying with the Muslims. Fourth, the attachment to the players and loyalty to them, even if they are disbelievers, at the expense of your Muslim brothers. Sixth, we are in a time when hearts are broken by what is happening to the Muslims in Bosnia, Somalia, and Kashmir. Where are we in showing affection to our Muslim brothers and applying what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded?" His response was that Your Eminence issues a ruling permitting looking at the thigh because it is not part of the awrah (nakedness). Second, regarding the music, he says the commentator's voice covers it up and it is not much. As for the time, if he does not spend it on matches, he will waste it on something else. As for prayer, delaying the 'Isha' prayer is better. So what is your opinion, Your Eminence? May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : This question contains truth and falsehood. The falsehood is against me, and I am accustomed to people lying about me. But we ask Allah to forgive the one who lied about me if he seeks the truth in what he says. However, if he seeks aggression, then there will be a standing between me and him on the Day of Resurrection. We say: What the questioner and the one discussing with his brother said regarding watching these matches is the truth, including the vices he mentioned. It also involves wasting money, because the devices through which these matches are watched consume money for electricity, transmission equipment, and so on. Then, among the most severe things in it is that if one of the disbelievers succeeds in this competition—and perhaps we can say from the type of disbelievers who are the most hostile to the Muslims—his heart may become attached to him, and he may respect and exalt him. Thus, the enmity that Allah the Exalted mentioned in What? is lost. So I am with the brother, not because I know him, but because I see that what he said is the truth, and that it is incumbent upon the Muslim to elevate himself above watching these things, given the vices the questioner listed. I have not added anything to them except the wasting of money. As for his claim that I permit looking at the thighs of young men, this is a lie against me. I do not permit looking at the thighs of young men at all. I see it as a fitnah (trial), and I hold that it is obligatory for the Muslim youth who practices this sport to cover what is between his navel and his knee, no matter what, even if he is disqualified, because obeying Allah and His Messenger is more worthy of being followed. Then I say: If this person is a star in these matches and prominent, he may become a leader of good and a good example if he covers what is between his navel and his knee. He would have established a good sunnah in Islam because he practiced it after it was neglected. And whoever establishes a good sunnah in Islam has the reward of it and the reward of whoever acts upon it until the Day of Resurrection. The truth is that we, praise be to Allah, are a Muslim nation with our own identity, our own morals, and what our Shari'ah requires. So it is not befitting for us to be imitators who follow others in matters that contradict what our Shari'ah brought. It is obligatory upon us, if we practice this sport—and the majority of those who practice it are youth—to cover what is between the navel and the knee, and not to care about others. We must have a distinct personality that imposes itself on people, rather than people imposing themselves on us. Because if we act according to our Shari'ah, who is our leader? Who? Our leader is Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, to all people, whom even these Christians are obligated to follow. But if we imitate others and neglect what our Shari'ah requires, our role model in this matter becomes someone other than our Prophet. And although some of the people who practice this sport are known for righteousness, prayer, and good character, they should also complete that by perfecting their noble morals with clothing that covers what is between the navel and the knee. On this occasion, I would like to say that we hear things attributed to us, and attributed to our Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Baz, and attributed to Shaykh Nasir al-Din al-Albani, which, when we examine them, we find to be lies. They may be intentional, or the one who transmitted them may have made a mistake in understanding, or in the formulation of the question on which the answer was based, or something similar. I contacted Shaykh al-Albani to ask about its authenticity, and he said he was fine. He said a man told him he had a book from me to him, and that I had told him, "Pray, pray with me in the mosque on Friday, last Friday." But he said he could not, but he would bring it to me on Saturday. The Shaykh said, "Did I write anything to you?" I said, "I did not write to you, I did not write you anything. If this book comes to you, it is not from me. I do not know what is in this book. It may contain great calamities that cars, ships, and airplanes do not want. We do not know. But he told me this." So I said to him, "O Shaykh, people are lying about me and about others." He said, "They have also lied about me." I said, "What happened?" He said, "They said that Shaykh al-Albani died." I said to him, "Perhaps they mean the death of sleep, that Allah takes your soul at night and wakes you in the day." The important thing is that people make up stories about scholars. But I advise you that for anything you hear from me that you find objectionable, you should contact me to verify whether it is true or not. It may be a lie, or it may be a truth, but I have a perspective that they do not know. Therefore, I hope that if you hear something from me that you find objectionable, you contact me. And if you also hear something from other scholars that you find objectionable, contact them, and do not spread everything that is said. We ask Allah for safety. Some scholars said in the du'a' of qunut: , saying: "I find no better well-being than that Allah protects you from people and protects people from you," just like now, that Allah protects you from people and protects people from you.
Yes.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : No, this brother who is debating our brother regarding the issue of watching says, meaning, it is as if you want us to respond to his arguments. He says, "If I do not occupy myself with watching this, I will occupy myself with something else." We say: If you occupy yourself with something else that is less harmful, or something that is beneficial, that is better. And what you should have done is occupy yourself with what is beneficial, because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This is regarding the statement. How did it return to the action? As for your saying that it is permissible to delay the 'Isha' prayer to one-third of the night or to half the night, because its time extends to half the night, we say: Some scholars have said that it extends to the appearance of the dawn out of necessity. And if you consider watching these people to be a necessity, that means we delay it to what? To the dawn. We give you a little more. We say to this man: We agree with you that the best in the 'Isha' prayer is to delay it, but on the condition that it is not delayed beyond half the night. However, it is not permissible for a person for whom congregation is obligatory to delay it and leave the congregation, because delaying is a recommended practice (sunnah) and congregation is obligatory, and there is no conflict between a recommended practice and an obligation. Therefore, you must pray with the congregation. But I fear he will argue with us with a second argument, saying: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And that is due to the preoccupation of the heart. And the preoccupation of the heart with this match is more severe than its preoccupation with food. What do we say? We say: Food is among the necessities of life, and this is not among the necessities. It is absolutely not among the necessities of life. And how many young people, praise be to Allah, have been saved from it and have not complained of any deficiency in their lives, neither in religious life nor in worldly life, and they are, praise be to Allah, content. Then, from this place, I call upon my brothers who practice this sport to hold fast to the religion. And I know that, praise be to Allah, among them are those who are completely holding fast to it. But I would like them to be callers to their other brothers in holding fast to the religion of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), establishing the prayer in congregation at its times, and wearing the covering garment that we referred to a little while ago. And we ask for success for them in what is good and righteous. Yes.

The questioner : I ask the honorable Shaykh to be aware that in some fatwas, signatures are forged, such as copying the Shaykh's signature and placing it on a false fatwa.

The Shaykh : This is possible now; dubbing is possible. Some people say that good speech can be dubbed and turned into bad speech. A letter is taken from this word, a letter from this word, a letter from this word, and a letter from this word, and then it is made into bad speech to the utmost extent, just as we saw the dubbing of men and images during the Gulf War. So everything is possible. But as I told you, I advise you that if you hear from me something that is reprehensible, or from others among the scholars, that you contact them so that the truth may be distinguished from falsehood.

The questioner : We love you for the sake of Allah and ask you to visit the northern region, especially al-Jawf, at least once. May Allah reward you.

The Shaykh : I say: I love Allah for whoever loves us for His sake, just as He loves us for His sake. And we ask Allah the Exalted to make our love and our loyalty follow what Allah and His Messenger love and what Allah and His Messenger are loyal to.
As for responding to the invitation, I would be pleased to do so, and I know that I have, if Allah wills, a reward with the intention of seeking reward that none knows except the Lord of the servants. But in this country now, I have become occupied with the students I have. And I know that if I leave the students for one night and others come and say, "Visit us," and I visit them, another night is added to that. Then a third person comes and asks me for a visit, and a third night is added. And if the students find that I have left them, their enthusiasm decreases and their zeal weakens. So as for the students, I do not like to be absent from them except to the extent of necessity. Perhaps the brothers remember a previous time when the students with us were few, and I would go right and left. But when they increased, and I saw, praise be to Allah, also in the scene those who have blessing and sufficiency in going to the people and reminding them and preaching to them, this combined with that, which is the presence of a barrier and the scarcity of the motive. Therefore, my visits to the northern region—and I ask for your excuse if I say that I have not visited them before—and the eastern region, the gatherings have become few. So we ask them to excuse us. And if Allah (Mighty and Majestic) wills and makes it easy.