Yoga - don't throw baby out with bath water (Nameless | Dec 2, 08 4:38pm - Malaysiakini)

Yoga - don't throw baby out with bath water (Nameless | Dec 2, 08 4:38pm - Malaysiakini)

I refer to the Malaysiakini Yoga declared 'haram' for Muslims.

To make understanding anything easy, it is by understanding it's bases. Yoga consists of several fields. However, most of its followers usually only follow a single field and separate it from other fields, until it become a single path.

This is the original Yoga. However, Yoga, in daily usage and popular culture, has another definition which is the use of certain postures as exercise and healing. This Yoga is an invented thing (bid'ah) that has existed for only about a 100 years, compared to the original Yoga which has existed for 5,000 years.

Wikipedia say this: ‘While Yoga evolved as a spiritual practice in Hinduism, in the Western World, a part of yoga, known as Asana, has grown popular as a form of purely physical exercise.

Some Western forms have little or nothing to do with Hinduism or spirituality, but are simply a way of keeping fit and healthy’.

The Westerners, most who are seculars, not only separated religion from politics, but has also ‘secularised’ Yoga by taking out the Hindu religious part, while leaving the exercise parts.

Therefore, it is obvious that there are two things that use the name, Yoga, which are:

1. Yoga teachings

2. Yoga exercises

It is obvious that the Yoga which is unlawful (haram) and can cause apostasy (riddah) if believed in, is Yoga as a teaching, while the Yoga which is permissible (mubah) is the one as exercise and healing, which is neutral.

However, the government-appointed watchdogs of Islam claim that Yoga comprises of:

a. systematic Yoga, which consists of:

i. physical postures and movements

ii. incantations (mantras)

iii union with God

and;

b. non-systematic Yoga (?), which only involves physical postures and movements.

In reality, there is no such thing as Yoga being divided into the two above. Supposedly, if one learns Yoga systematically, it will include incantations (mantras) intended to unite with God. If they do not learn Yoga systematically, they will not find incantations (mantras) intended to unite with God, but they are still there.

Supposedly, the incantations have not, or even could not, be separated from the exercises. This implies that there is a conspiracy to trick Muslims, who initially learning yoga as an exercise are tricked into learning the mantras, and finally tricked into trying to unite with God.

The watchdogs claim that they did a lot of research before coming out with this fatwa, but it seems that they have only based it on hearsay and prejudice.

The watchdogs assume that it is their duty to instruct the masses by shielding them from anything misguided, so that the masses will be safe. So, they choose the overly strict ('azimah) and cautious (ikhtiat) way.

One must be careful in judging something, based on itself (Zat), or based on something else related to it (Li Ghairihi), especially if the other thing can be separated from the main thing. In other words, you do not throw the baby out with the water.

If based on Yoga exercises only, there is nothing unlawful in it, what more to cause polytheism or apostasy. If based on other things related to it, of course, Yoga exercises originate from Yoga teachings, and not from Allah nor His Messenger.

It is possible (ijaz) that some Muslims might become kufr from learning Yoga,

but not necessarily (wujub) so. Nothing should be condemned just because somebody was misguided through it..

Some Muslims did become kufr by learning science, ie, the non-creation of the cosmos and the evolution of humans so should we then prohibit every Muslim from learning science? This attitude of anti-knowledge is what has made Muslims not as developed as non-Muslims.

What should be stressed instead is how to recognise the correct aqidah and be rational. Therefore, a Muslim will not only capable of differentiating fake beliefs, but will also understand if certain beliefs or rituals have nothing to do with the effectiveness of any particular exercise.

Rasulullah SAW once said: ‘Wisdom is the lost treasure of the mu'min, wherever he finds them, he has more rights on them’. - Hadith narrated by At-Tirmidi (5/51) and Ibn Majah (2/1395).

What this means is that good things can be found outside of Islam, and Muslims should search for it and make better use of it than the non-Muslims. We should use our God-given intellect and senses to find what is beneficial for us, as long as it does not contradict the Syariah.

We have to acknowledge that the Muslim ummah wants to think and decide for themselves, whether that are capable or not, unlike the past where they were obedient. This phenomenon will grow, because an obedient person can be taught to think and decide.