On April 18, India’s East Coast Daily newspaper initially claimed that according to Saudi Arabia’s new Vision-2030, Hindu religious texts from Ramayana and Mahabharata have been introduced in Kingdom’s new curriculum for students to study.

The media agency quoted Saudi national Nouf Almarwaai’s tweet where she shared screen-shots of her son’s online-exam, and claimed, “Saudi Arabia’s new #vision2030 & curriculum will help to create coexistent,moderate & tolerant generation. Screenshots of my sons school exam today in Social Studies included concepts & history of Hinduism,Buddhism,Ramayana, Karma, Mahabharata &Dharma. I enjoyed helping him study”.

The tweet received overwhelming response from the India’s Hindu diaspora, who applauded her, and Saudi Arabia’s new vision 2030.

Indian media channels celebrated the claim and announced that Saudi Arabia has introduced Hindu religious texts in their national school curriculum. The news does not refer to any official source from Saudi Education Ministry or Saudi Media Ministry.

The report was later clarified by the Saudis, that they respect and honor the Indian culture, but no such decision has taken place as of now where Kingdom’s national school curriculum has been amended.

Saudi Arabia’s famous columnist Ibraheem Al-Sulaiman tweeted, “Professor Nouf, I agree with you regarding the freedom of education for the communities in their private international schools, which are restricted to the members of their community or those who belong to their community, and this matter is not new, as it has been applied within specific frameworks and curricula of their own since its establishment, and it cannot be mixed with the Saudi curricula for private and local public education”.

Saudi professor Omar Al-Sabiyee said that he has been teaching for the past 25 years, and all the subjects are taught in Arabic language only. Saudi school curriculum does not include social studies in English language, hence he stated that the questions belong to the Indian school.

“I have been teaching for 25 years… the system in public education prohibits placing questions in English except for English language subjects only … these questions maybe for Indian schools”, Omar tweeted.

Independent Saudi Political Analyst Omar Al-Ghamdi tweeted while addressing Almarwaai, “Your son is studying in an International Indian School in #SaudiArabia due to your family relations. These schools have been using the same cuuriculum for years before #Vision2030, so It’s a big lie to link foriegn curriculum we respect to our vision”.

Saudi Business woman Najwa AlTuwaijri tweeted, “We all respect religions, but you lied and said that this is a curriculum in Saudi schools that is taught while it is a curriculum for private schools for the Indian community in Saudi Arabia! I do not know what is the purpose of linking the vision with your lie!”

Omar Al-Ghamdi also tweeted while tagging Saudi Media Ministry, “This tweet was echoed widely in the Indian media and society of all sects and conveyed a wrong image about education in Saudi Arabia. The Indian media published articles in this regard without referring to the Saudi Ministries of Education and Information”.

Riyadh-based Dental Specialist Dr. Sameena Khan investigated the social studies curriculum and said, “the text of the whole curriculum is in the Arabic language and there was no mention of the Mahabharata or the Ramayana in the entire social studies text book. It is unclear as to what motivated the said twitter user to propagate this”.

Dr. Khan also shared the PDF document of the social studies book of the Kingdom’s public curriculum, which has no new introduction of foreign studies.

Eventually, Almarwaai sincerely clarified that her previous tweet was about Saudi Arabia’s international curriculum not the national curriculum, and it does not necessarily mean it teaches Hindu religion to the students, while it’s all about informing the students about India and the great Indian civilization.

She tweeted, “My dear, this is a Saudi international school curriculum approved by the Ministry of Education, and I did not say that it teaches the Hindu religion. I said the civilization and history of India and what religions are practiced in it as information. As for the Ramyana and the Mahabharat, they are cultural historical epics that were mentioned in the curriculum”.

“Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education has always supervised and approved curriculums of private and international schools. General knowledge about mythologies and epics like the Iliad and Odyssey of Homer (Greek mythology) or the Mahabharata and Ramayana (Indian mythology) has been taught in international and private schools for decades and no new changes to this effect have been made in line with Vision 2030 as claimed by Nouf”, Dr. Khan said. “Also, the actual texts of these epics (either in their original languages or translations) are not approved by the Ministry and are not taught in any schools. Teaching ‘about’ something and actually teaching something are entirely different things”.

Moreover, the news is not reported by India’s official media agencies like Asian News International (ANI) and Press Trust of India (PTI), nor by Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Press Agency (SPA) and Okaz. Since the news is carried out by independent media units and individuals, there’s no official clarification from the Saudi authorities.

Urdu translation of this report.

None of them denied – as far as we know – that the origin of this practice stems from idolatrous Hindu beliefs then Buddhism. Hence those who allow it in all cases took away from it anything that has to do with beliefs and spiritual matters, and passed the ruling on it on the basis that it is regarded as physical exercise. Those who forbade it did so because of its religious origins and the resemblance to those idol worshippers, and because of the harm it causes to the body, and other reasons. As for those who differentiate between one type and another, their opinion is not acceptable because it is not possible to eliminate the bad and because people are not able to distinguish between what is permissible and what is forbidden in it. 

So it is both spiritual and physical exercise which was originally aimed at reaching oblivion and entering into a state of connection with God! 

In the book al-Yoga wa’l-Tanaffus (yoga and breathing) by Muhammad ‘Abd al-Fattaah Faheem (p. 19), it says: 

“Yoga in the sacred Indian language means union and contact with God, i.e., union between the body, the mind and God which helps man attain knowledge and wisdom and develops his thought by developing his knowledge of life; it protects him from sectarianism, religious fanaticism, narrowmindedness and shortsightedness when searching; it makes him live a life of contentment both physically and spiritually.” 

In al-Mu‘jam al-Falsafi by Jameel Sulayba (2/590) it says: “Yoga is a Sanskrit word which means union; it is used to refer to a kind of spiritual exercise that is practised by the wise men of India for the purpose of union with the universal spirit. Yoga is not a school of philosophical thought; rather it is an artistic way of doing some exercises that release the soul from physical and mental gravity and take it step-by-step towards reality. The Yogi is the wise man who practices this way.”

Both quotes taken from Mazaahirat al-Tashabbuh bi’l-Kuffaar fi’l-‘Asr al-Hadeeth wa Atharuha ‘ala al-Muslimeen.

In the definition of Yoga we see that it means union, i.e., union of man with the spirit, which is the universal spirit, by which they mean God. Hence the aim of this practice is to be a way of combining all other religions. Dr Ahmad Shalabi – who is a specialist in the religions of India – says: 

“The union of Buddha with the Hindu gods is nothing but a return to belief in ‘Jnana Yoga’ i.e., the ‘path of knowledge’ which sees truth in all religions and philosophies. But this truth is only a particle of the greater, complete truth. This school of thought does not object to any religion or philosophy; it thinks that any religion or philosophy is not everything and is not the whole truth. The one who believes in this way of thinking does not belong to any religion or school of thought, because he regards the followers of all different religions as his brothers, no matter how they differ. So Jnana Yoga is a way that encompasses all beliefs and refuses to be restricted by any of them. We should highlight the fact that propagating and promoting this way of thinking is aimed at fighting Islam indirectly. I have seen these attempts in several countries. Islam is the force that defeated both Christian and Buddhist missionaries, so if they can manage to divert people in one way or another – even in the name of Jnana Yoga that encompasses all beliefs and does not restrict itself to any one of them – that is a great victory for them. After they have managed to divert the Muslim from Islam at the end of this smart trick, then it is possible to make him doubt and then pull him into another sphere. So let the Muslim beware of Yoga and its trickery and those who promote it.” Adyaan al-Hind al-Kubra, p. 174 

We think that forbidding it altogether is the correct approach. We have studied the words of many concerning this practice, and we have decided to sum up the comments on it from a book that deals specifically with the ruling on this practice, by a writer whom we trust with regard to his methodology and beliefs; he is a doctor who knows what he is saying when he criticises it even from a health point of view. This writer is Dr Faaris ‘Alwaan and his book is called al-Yoga fi Mizaan al-Naqd al-‘Ilmi, which was published by Darussalam in Cairo. Everything that we will quote below is from this book, but it should be noted that we cannot quote everything that it says in the book. Hence we will limit it to a definition of this practice and the discussion of the Islamic ruling on it; whoever wants to know more may refer to the book. 

What is Yoga? 

Yoga means union; one of its prominent teachers says that it is union of man with the spirit. 

Yoga involves various exercises and rituals, but the most important and most famous of them is an exercise called Surya Namaskar [known in English as the “Sun Salutation”], which means in Sanskrit: “prostration to the sun on eight parts of the body”. And they defined these parts as the two feet, the two knees, the two hands, the chest and the forehead. 

It is preferable for the one who practices yoga to be naked, especially the chest, back and thighs; to face the sun when it is rising and when it is setting if he wants Yoga that is sound and beneficial; and to fix his gaze and focus his attention on the disc of the sun, and be attached to it completely, which includes his body, his faculties, his mind and his heart. If he is in a built-up area and cannot see the sun, he is allowed to draw the disc of the sun in front of him on the wall. One of them said: If the one who is practising yoga is a believer in a religion and is concerned about committing an act of disbelief, there is nothing wrong with him drawing any image in front of him and focusing on it completely! 

Yoga also includes pondering one’s body deeply and thinking of and examining every part of the body, starting with the toes and going up to the head when waking up and before getting up from one’s bed, and doing the opposite, from the head down to the toes just before sleeping, and it is not allowed to forget or be distracted from this important task! 

Whoever wants to benefit from yoga should also be vegetarian. 

And he has to repeat specific words out loud whilst doing these exercises. These words are called mantras, the most famous of which are the beeja mantras, which are hram, hreem, hraim, hraum, hara. Some syllables are also repeated in yoga, such as Aum (or Om). 

In addition to that, it is essential to repeat the twelve names of the sun, because this is a major and important part of Yoga. 

Names of the sun include: 

Rafanama, which means, “I bow my head to you, O one whom everyone praises.”

Suryanama, which means, “I bow my head to you, O guide of all.”

Bahaanafinama, which means, “I bow my head to you, O bestower of beauty.”

Safeetarnama, which means, “I bow my head to you, O bestower of life” etc. 

And they claim that this repetition is very beneficial. 

One of those who practices yoga says that he wakes up at 3.30 a.m. and continues practising yoga and offering its special prayers until 6:15 a.m. And in the evening he does the same thing from 6 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. 

Thus he spends three and a quarter hours every day practising yoga, and he says that some of them spend more time than that, claiming that the more time they spend on it the more beneficial it is. 

Reference: Al-Yoga fi Mizaan al-Naqd al-‘Ilmi, p. 13-18 

The Islamic ruling on practising yoga 

To sum up, it is not permissible for the Muslim to practice yoga at all, whether he does it on the basis of belief or imitating others, or because he is seeking a particular so-called benefit. That is due to a number of reasons which we may conclude from what is mentioned above, and which we will sum up as follows: 

1. Because Yoga is contrary to Tawheed and involves associating other deities with Allah, may He be exalted, and because it involves prostrating to the sun and repeating its names. 

Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“Say (O Muhammad): I am commanded only to worship Allaah (Alone) and not to join partners with Him.” [al-Ra‘d 13:36]

“If you join others in worship with Allâh, (then) surely (all) your deeds will be in vain, and you will certainly be among the losers” [al-Zumar 39:65]. 

2. Because it involves imitation of pagans, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever imitates a people is one of them.” Narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawood and al-Tabaraani from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). 

3. Because some of its practices are harmful to most people and lead to serious health consequences for them. Some of its practices involve sitting in a very strange and shameful way, and sitting in a lazy way, oblivious to what is going on around one. This is also harmful from a health and psychological point of view. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm.” Narrated by Ahmad and Ibn Maajah from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him). 

4. Because it is a waste of time doing something that does not bring anything but harm and loss in this world, and calamity and despair in the Hereafter. The trustworthy Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “A person’s feet will not move on, on the Day of Resurrection, until he has been asked about four things: his life and how he spent it, his knowledge and what he did with it, his wealth and from where he acquired it and on what he spent it, and his body and how he used it.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi from Abu Barzah. 

5. Because it is a clear call to imitate animals and detracts from human dignity, such as: adopting nakedness, resting on all fours in most of the exercises (Surya Namaskar or sun salutation) and the special posture in the third and eighth exercises. 

6. Because many of those who tried to practice what is called scientific yoga or behavioural therapy fell into the pit of drugs and addiction, and this remedy has been proven to be ineffective and of no benefit. 

7. Because it is based on lies and charlatanry; its promoters rely on deceit and twisting the facts in spreading it. Thus it attracted the attention of a large number of those who are simple-natured and many of those who are weak in faith. 

8. Because a few of those who practice yoga or some other esoteric or deviant trends may perform extraordinary feats, people are deceived by it. But in most cases they are only using devils among the jinn as in the case of magic and so on, and this is haraam according to Islam. 

9. Most of the advice given by the promoters of yoga is harmful to the individual, including the following: 

(a) Nakedness and what it causes of cultural, sexual, psychological and physical diseases.

(b) Exposing the skin to the sun. We have seen the harm that this causes, especially when there is lengthy exposure to the sun.

(c) Fixing the gaze on the disc of the sun, which causes severe damage to the eyes.

(d) Encouraging a vegetarian diet for which Allah has not revealed any authority.

Reference: Al-Yoga fi Mizan al-Naqd al-‘Ilmi, p. 84-86 

Article taken from Islamqa.