Ruling on Acrobatic Games
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Last week, the police affiliated with the Riyadh police force gathered at the Malaz stadium, and they call that day "Police Day." It recurs every year, and some observations occur during it, such as: they bring a car, tie a rope to its bumper, then a man drags it with his teeth. Then a man rides on top of it, holding onto it by his head, and then he is dragged by his hair, and then the car runs with him, and this person is dragging it with his hair. I hope you will clarify the ruling on that: are these actions sorcery, or are they real?
Answer:
This is a matter that has been going on for years. There are people who have some acrobatic games, from some Pakistanis and others. The matter has been discussed with the scholars, and the scholars have studied it, and they have spoken to the government about it. We ask Allah to guide the rulers to all that is good. Some of these things are achieved through learning, and they are games that are achieved through learning, but it is not safe to assume that they do not insert into them some malicious things, inserting things that the common people do not know, and perhaps they are from the sorcery that they took from the devils and jinn. It is not safe to assume otherwise.
And there is no doubt that the benefit lies in preventing them, and in stopping this game; because it brings about evil. But we ask Allah to guide the rulers to what is in the well-being of the Ummah and its salvation.
The intended meaning : These games that these people perform, which they call acrobatic games, have been discussed by the people of knowledge, and they have looked into them. There are things in them that are achieved through learning, in pulling heavy weights, lifting heavy weights, dragging cars, and the like. But it is said about them: that they sometimes insert into them some matters of sorcery that the specialists among the people do not know, and the rulers do not know. So by this, they deserve to be prevented; so that they do not bring evil and corruption upon the people, and so that they do not insert into that matters of sorcery and witchcraft that are hidden from the people under the name that they are matters they learned, and they are lying. And this matter will be followed up, if Allah wills.
Last week, the police affiliated with the Riyadh police force gathered at the Malaz stadium, and they call that day "Police Day." It recurs every year, and some observations occur during it, such as: they bring a car, tie a rope to its bumper, then a man drags it with his teeth. Then a man rides on top of it, holding onto it by his head, and then he is dragged by his hair, and then the car runs with him, and this person is dragging it with his hair. I hope you will clarify the ruling on that: are these actions sorcery, or are they real?
Answer:
This is a matter that has been going on for years. There are people who have some acrobatic games, from some Pakistanis and others. The matter has been discussed with the scholars, and the scholars have studied it, and they have spoken to the government about it. We ask Allah to guide the rulers to all that is good. Some of these things are achieved through learning, and they are games that are achieved through learning, but it is not safe to assume that they do not insert into them some malicious things, inserting things that the common people do not know, and perhaps they are from the sorcery that they took from the devils and jinn. It is not safe to assume otherwise.
And there is no doubt that the benefit lies in preventing them, and in stopping this game; because it brings about evil. But we ask Allah to guide the rulers to what is in the well-being of the Ummah and its salvation.
The intended meaning : These games that these people perform, which they call acrobatic games, have been discussed by the people of knowledge, and they have looked into them. There are things in them that are achieved through learning, in pulling heavy weights, lifting heavy weights, dragging cars, and the like. But it is said about them: that they sometimes insert into them some matters of sorcery that the specialists among the people do not know, and the rulers do not know. So by this, they deserve to be prevented; so that they do not bring evil and corruption upon the people, and so that they do not insert into that matters of sorcery and witchcraft that are hidden from the people under the name that they are matters they learned, and they are lying. And this matter will be followed up, if Allah wills.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.