Sporty Muslim – Muhammad Ali

• “The black superman.”
• The greatest heavy weight boxing champion of all times and an Olympic gold medalist.
• A teenager who learned to float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.
• A convert to Islam who changed his name from Cassius Clay.
• Stands up boldly for Muslims, as he fights Parkinson’s disease.
• A philanthropist sponsoring “Ali Center”, which gives “The Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards” yearly as a way to publicly recognize and honor people, who are making significant contributions toward securing peace, social justice, and human rights on a global basis.

Why is boxing forbidden in Islam?

Muhammad Ali, loved by Muslims all around the world, suffers Parkinson’s, due to hard blows on face. More than 400 boxers have been injured and even died because of this dangerous sport.

Boxing is based on allowing punches to the face of one’s opponent using the maximum force that one possesses. Blows to the face earn more points than blows to any other part of the body. This clearly goes against the teaching of the Prophet (sa), as narrated by Abu Hurayrah (rtam): “When any one of you fights, let him avoid (striking) the face.” (Bukhari)

Indeed it is Allah’s (swt) Rahmah (mercy) upon us to protect our bodies from harm and avoid such violent fights by making such sports forbidden.

Timeline

1942 – born as Cassius Clay in Kentucky, USA

1964 – wins the Golden Glove Championship

1960 – wins Olympic gold medal

1964 – converts to Islam and changes name to Muhammad Ali

1981 – retires from boxing

1981 – diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease

2013 – started “The Muhammad Ali humanitarian awards”

2015 – defends Muslims in response to Donald Trump’s ban plan