Is It Permissible for Me to Wrestle People Who Aren’t Properly Dressed?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

I was looking to get into competitive wrestling, but in the country, I live in, the men who wrestle often do not cover their awrah when wrestling and rather wear uni-suits. Would it be permissible for me to wrestle them if I cover my ’awra though they may not?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

It is not permissible to wrestle against someone improperly covered, as this would likely necessitate skin-to-skin contact with those areas of their body, which is strictly prohibited. [’Ala’ al-Din Abidin, al-Hadiyya al-`Ala’iyya]

Anything that is prohibited from seeing of another’s body is prohibited from touching. And just for clarification, even though it is not part of your question, it is prohibited to touch a marriageable woman’s hands, face, or feet – even though it would be permissible to see those parts if there is no desire or fear of desire in doing so.

Solutions

Try to find, or maybe start, a Muslim wrestling team/group. Wrestling is a sport encouraged by the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace), and there are great lessons of discipline, self-control, courage, and assertiveness that can be learned.

If you can get a group of like-minded Muslims, you may find an alternative that coincides with the dictates of the Sacred law and guidance of Islam and the teachings of Allah and His Messenger (may Allah bless him and give him peace).

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he then completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Quran and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Quranic exegesis, Islamic history, and a number of texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.