22. Physical ftness

The Messenger of Allah (saw) says: “The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer and there is good in both” (Related by Muslim)

Physical fitness is part of the preparation for Jihad. What Jihad needs is not body builders. What Jihad needs is mujahideen who have the ability to walk for long hours, to run for long distances (important for guerrilla warfare), to sprint (important for urban warfare), and to climb mountains.

The mujahid needs to be able to perform all of the afore-mentioned while carrying a weight. In Jihad lands such as Bosnia and Chechnya unfit brothers represented a burden on the mujahideen because they would slow down the whole group. Also the unfit can more easily fall in the hands of the enemy. So endurance exercises should take precedence over exercise for strength and flexibility. Even if a Muslim is not going to fight, physical fitness is still important. For example, a fit person can withstand prison and torture more than a person who is not.

The early Muslims were fit since they led a military lifestyle. The companion Amr bin al Aas who opened Egypt in the time of Umar and was appointed as its governor used to say in Jumu’ah khutbah: “I don’t want to see any one of you gaining weight while your horse is losing weight. If I see that I will reduce your salaries accordingly”

So dear brothers, exercising with the right intention is an act of worship. Our sisters are not exempt from this. They also need to be fit and the Muslim community needs to work out halal alternatives for the sisters to exercise.