Mufti rejects players' prostrations as contrary to Islamic law

Manama: Dubai’s Grand Mufti has rejected prostrations during football matches, saying that they were contrary to Islamic law.

The Islamic prostration to offer thanks to God became visible during the football matches played by Saudi Arabia during the World Cup in 1994 when players came together after scoring a goal and kneeled to offer thanks to God in a gesture emulating the prayer rituals performed in mosques.

Prostrations on the grass have since then gained in intensity and reached their zenith with the Egyptian football team during the African Cup finals broadcast last month to millions of Arab and Muslim homes.

Egyptian players and media said that the major reason for their team winning the African Cup was the team’s prompt expression of gratitude to God whenever they scored a goal.

However, Dr Ahmad Abdul Aziz Al Haddad this week told Saudi newspaper Al Eqtisadiya that players needed to meet strict conditions to perform the prostration of thanks and these include purity of the body, the coverage of their private parts and kneeling towards Makkah.

"These conditions are not possible on a football field. The players in fact may need to perform ablution to cleanse their bodies and are not sufficiently covered for the prostration," Al Haddad said.

The Mufti told the paper that scoring a goal was not a blessing that warranted a prostration of thanks and gratitude to God, adding that watching football matches could in fact take away people from praying and praising God.

However, Ahmad Omar Hashem, former president of Cairo-based Al Azhar University said that the prostration of players on the soccer field was not considered invalid if it was an expression of reverence to God.

"The prostration to thank God has strict conditions, but if the intent of the player is a reverence to God it is not forbidden or invalid," Ahmad said on an Egyptian information ministry news website.