Is It Permissible to Use Male Silhouettes in Fitness or Workout Apps?
Shafi'i Fiqh
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
Is it permissible to use male silhouettes in a workout app if outlines highlight areas like glutes, abs, and core?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
May Allah alleviate our difficulties and guide us to what pleases Him. Amin.
Using male silhouettes in a workout app, particularly when emphasizing areas such as the glutes, abs, and core, requires careful consideration. Allah (Most High)says:
“Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allah is All-Aware of what they do.” [Quran 24:30]
If the outlines or silhouettes in question are provocative or reveal the ‘awra (those parts of the body that should be covered), such as when they focus on areas that would be inappropriate to expose or wear tight, revealing clothing over, then it would be better to avoid using such images. [Shirbini, Mughni al-Muhtaj]
For practical guidance, I recommend using neutral and non-provocative outlines or general illustrations that avoid emphasizing specific body parts that might be deemed immodest. Suppose the intention is educational and not to provoke. In that case, the focus should be on overall fitness, not on the detailed depiction of the body in a way that could lead to inappropriate thoughts or actions.
May Allah guide us all to what is best.
I pray this is of benefit and that Allah guides us all.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town. He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.
