Mari bersenam...or not.

National Fatwa Council Rules Yoga To Be 'Haram'

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 22 (Bernama) -- The National Fatwa Council has ruled that yoga is 'haram" for Muslims.

Its chairman, Datuk Dr Abdul Shukor Husin said only the physical aspect of yoga without the mantras and elements of worshipping outwardly was not wrong (in Islam).

However, he said, yoga was not to be encouraged among Muslims for fear that it could erode their Islamic faith since the physical part was a component of yoga practice as a whole.

He said there were three stages to yoga practice, which originated from the Hindus, -- first, the physical aspect which is the exercise part; second the mantras and worshipping and third the unification of oneself with God.

"Therefore, members of the council reached a consensus that any practice, regardless of type and in whatever form that have such elements, contradict Islamic teachings," he told a press conference here.

Abdul Shukor said the matter was decided at the 83rd National Fatwa Council meeting held in Kota Baharu from Oct 22 to 24 and that the decision would be conveyed to the respective state religious councils for gazetting.

He said yoga practice among Muslims had also been banned in Singapore and Egypt.

Abdul Shukor said various programmes would be carried out by the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) to enlighten Muslims on yoga.

He also advised Muslims to get information on any exercise programme before practising them to ensure that they would not affect their religious faith.

He said there were many other ways which Muslims could do to exercise for health, like praying.

Yoga has been practised since 3000 BC and is said to be able to slow down the ageing process, reduce the risk of diabetes, asthma and heart-related diseases. -- BERNAMA

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*sigh* personally i love yoga..minus the chanting lah...i mean, whenever i do yoga pun bukannya ada the mantras pun...ok, the instructor adalah sebut pasal sun etc, but i takdelah dgr kan? even at times i would be dozing off esp masa meditation.... :-P dozing off or day dreaming sambil tutup mata...

for me yoga is a form of exercise, a good way for me to move my couch potato bum from the sofa or chair...and i sleep better after each session...

granted, i only did yoga for about 3 months (or maybe even less), and now dah stop sebab my kemalasan and kepenatan, but learning about it makes me understand more about the art.

i don't see it as memesong...it all depends on nawaitu seseorang....for me, it for my and the baby's wellbeing...tak pernah berniat benda lain selain ia sebagai satu senaman pun.

yes, i am guilty for not practising eventho i already bought the yoga for preggies book a few months ago...but tak larat lah...(alasan atau kenyataan? entahlah..) :-D

i guess now kalau nak beryoga (minus the chants and mantras, of course) kena buat kat rumah senyap-senyap la....be careful..jangan tersalah lipat-lipat, ya!