Yoga fatwa on hold

PETALING JAYA: The implementation of the fatwa (edict) banning the practice of yoga by Muslims has been put on hold in two states.

> The Sultan of Selangor said the fatwa could not be implemented in the state yet as it had not been presented to the state Fatwa Committee,

> Perak Islamic Religious Department director Datuk Jamry Sury withdrew his earlier statement that Perak would adopt the fatwa, saying that several procedures including seeking the consent of the Sultan, had to be carried out first,

> Perlis Mufti Dr Asri Zainal Abidin spoke out against the edict, saying yoga with the non-Muslim elements removed should be allowed,

> Most other states said they would take the necessary steps to enable the edict to be implemented,

> However, Sisters in Islam said the fact that the states had differing views on the matter seemed to suggest that there was no consensus on the ban.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp...425&sec=nation

Give alternative version of yoga, says Perlis Mufti

KUALA LUMPUR: Perlis Mufti Dr Asri Zainul Abidin said the National Fatwa Council should have offered an alternative version of yoga instead of banning Muslims from practising the ancient form of exercise.

He pointed out that many other sports activities like tai chi, judo and taekwondo were picked up from other cultures.

“These sports did not have anything to do with Islam but have been practised because of its known health benefits,” he said in a telephone interview with Mstar yesterday.

“Yoga practitioners who are Muslims should be given an alternative by practising a version of yoga that does not resemble the version practised by other religions,” he said, adding that chanting while practising the exercise should also be stripped.

He maintained that yoga was a good exercise to maintain a healthy lifestyle if done minus the extra bits that are against Islamic teachings.

Dr Asri is believed to have not attended the National Fatwa Council’s meeting on the edict on yoga because he felt uncomfortable with the discrimination by Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) and its director against his views on an alternative solution.

“The fatwa (edict) announced in this day and age should not be too rigid. The human movement does not necessarily have a connection with religion,” he said.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp...011&sec=nation

Originally Posted by north_malaysian

Give alternative version of yoga, says Perlis Mufti

tell him that there already is an alternative in existence, it is known as Salat!

Originally Posted by doorster

tell him that there already is, it is known as Salat!

that's what being commented by many religious figures...

if yoga is in fatwa, but how about china...like acrobatic...similar to yoga..! and the gymnastic....????

okay I have question: if there are elements that go against Islam, cant we remove them and still practice Yoga?

What gave Yoga the honour of a fatwa is that it is connected to Hinduism. No other forms of exercise are connected to a religion as yoga is. Yoga has been proscribed by some Christian denominations or communities. This only indicates that yoga is gaining popularity and some people feel threatened. Somewhat misplaced, I would say.

Yoga
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For other uses, such as Hatha Yoga or Yoga postures, see Yoga (disambiguation)
Statue of Shiva performing Yogic meditation in the Padmasana posture.

Yoga (Sanskrit: योग, IAST: yóga, IPA: [joːgə]) refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India; to the goal achieved by those disciplines; and to one of the six orthodox (āstika) schools of Hindu philosophy.[1][2]

Major branches of yoga include Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Hatha Yoga.[3][4][5] Raja Yoga, compiled in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, and known simply as yoga in the context of Hindu philosophy, is part of the Samkhya tradition.[6] Many other Hindu texts discuss aspects of yoga, including the Vedas, Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Shiva Samhita and various Tantras.

The Sanskrit word yoga has many meanings,[7] and is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj, meaning "to control", "to yoke" or "to unite".[8] Translations include "joining", "uniting", "union", "conjunction", and "means".[9][10][11] Outside India, the term yoga is typically associated with Hatha Yoga and its asanas (postures) or as a form of exercise. A practitioner of Yoga is called a Yogi (gender neutral) or Yogini (feminine form).
Contents
[hide]

* 1 History of yoga
o 1.1 Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
o 1.2 Bhagavad Gita
o 1.3 Hatha Yoga
* 2 Yoga practices in other traditions
o 2.1 Yoga and Sufism
o 2.2 Yoga and Buddhism
+ 2.2.1 Yogacara Buddhism
+ 2.2.2 Ch'an (Seon/Zen) Buddhism
+ 2.2.3 Tibetan Buddhism
o 2.3 Yoga and Islam
o 2.4 Yoga and Tantra
* 3 Goal of yoga
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 Further reading
* 7 External links

[edit] History of yoga

Main article: History of yoga

While the most ancient mystic practices are vaguely hinted at in the Vedas, the ascetic practices (tapas) are referenced in the Brāhmaṇas (900 BCE and 500 BCE),[12] early commentaries on the Vedas. The Rig Veda, earliest of the Hindu scripture mentions the practice.[13] Certainly breath control and curbing the mind was practiced since the Vedic times.[14] Popular yoga writer Georg Feuerstein believes that yoga was fundamental to Vedic ritual, especially to chanting the sacred hymns.[15]

In the Upanishads, an early reference to meditation is made in Brihadaranyaka Upanishad,[16] one of the earliest Upanishads (approx. 900 BCE). The main textual sources for the evolving concept of Yoga are the middle Upanishads, (ca. 400 BCE), the Mahabharata (5th c. BCE) including the Bhagavad Gita (ca. 200 BCE), and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (300 BCE-200 BCE). Several seals discovered at Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3300–1700 BC) sites depict figures in a yoga- or meditation-like posture, "a form of ritual discipline, suggesting a precursor of yoga" that point to Harappan devotion to "ritual discipline and concentration", according to Archaeologist Gregory Possehl.[17]

[edit] Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Main articles: Raja Yoga and Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

In Indian philosophy, Yoga is the name of one of the six orthodox philosophical schools.[18][19] The Yoga philosophical system is closely allied with the Samkhya school.[20] The Yoga school as expounded by Patanjali accepts the Samkhya psychology and metaphysics, but is more theistic than the Samkhya, as evidenced by the addition of a divine entity to the Samkhya's twenty-five elements of reality.[21][22] The parallels between Yoga and Samkhya were so close that Max Müller says that "the two philosophies were in popular parlance distinguished from each other as Samkhya with and Samkhya without a Lord...."[23] The intimate relationship between Samkhya and Yoga is explained by Heinrich Zimmer:

These two are regarded in India as twins, the two aspects of a single discipline. Sāṅkhya provides a basic theoretical exposition of human nature, enumerating and defining its elements, analyzing their manner of co-operation in a state of bondage (bandha), and describing their state of disentanglement or separation in release (mokṣa), while Yoga treats specifically of the dynamics of the process for the disentanglement, and outlines practical techniques for the gaining of release, or 'isolation-integration' (kaivalya).[24]

The sage Patanjali is widely regarded as the founder of the formal Yoga philosophy.[25] Patanjali's yoga is known as Raja yoga, which is a system for control of the mind.[26] Patanjali defines the word "yoga" in his second sutra,[27] which is the definitional sutra for his entire work:

योग: चित्त-वृत्ति निरोध:
( yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ )
- Yoga Sutras 1.2

This terse definition hinges on the meaning of three Sanskrit terms. I. K. Taimni translates it as "Yoga is the inhibition (nirodhaḥ) of the modifications (vṛtti) of the mind (citta)".[28] Swami Vivekananda translates the sutra as "Yoga is restraining the mind-stuff (Citta) from taking various forms (Vrittis)."[29]
A sculpture of a Hindu yogi in the Birla Mandir, Delhi

Patanjali's writing also became the basis for a system referred to as "Ashtanga Yoga" ("Eight-Limbed Yoga"). This eight-limbed concept derived from the 29th Sutra of the 2nd book, and is a core characteristic of practically every Raja yoga variation taught today. The Eight Limbs are:

(1) Yama (The five "abstentions"): non-violence, non-lying, non-covetousness, non-sensuality, and non-possessiveness.
(2) Niyama (The five "observances"): purity, contentment, austerity, study, and surrender to god.
(3) Asana: Literally means "seat", and in Patanjali's Sutras refers to the seated position used for meditation.
(4) Pranayama ("Lengthening Prāna"): Prāna, life force, or vital energy, particularly, the breath, "āyāma", to lengthen or extend. Also interpreted as control of prana.
(5) Pratyahara ("Abstraction"): Withdrawal of the sense organs from external objects.
(6) Dharana ("Concentration"): Fixing the attention on a single object.
(7) Dhyana ("Meditation"): Intense contemplation of the nature of the object of meditation.
(8) Samādhi ("Liberation"): merging consciousness with the object of meditation.

[edit] Bhagavad Gita

Main article: Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita ('Song of the Lord'), uses the term yoga extensively in a variety of ways. In addition to an entire chapter (ch. 6) dedicated to traditional yoga practice, including meditation,[30] it introduces three prominent types of yoga:[31]

* Karma yoga: The yoga of action
* Bhakti yoga: The yoga of devotion
* Jnana yoga: The yoga of knowledge

Madhusudana Sarasvati (b. circa 1490) divided the Gita into three sections, with the first six chapters dealing with Karma yoga, the middle six with Bhakti yoga, and the last six with Jnana (knowledge).[32] Other commentators ascribe a different 'yoga' to each chapter, delineating eighteen different yogas.[33]

[edit] Hatha Yoga

Main articles: Hatha yoga and Hatha Yoga Pradipika

Hatha Yoga is a particular system of Yoga described by Yogi Swatmarama, compiler of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika in 15th century India. Hatha Yoga differs substantially from the Raja Yoga of Patanjali in that it focuses on shatkarma, the purification of the physical body as leading to the purification of the mind (ha), and prana, or vital energy (tha).[34][35] Compared to the seated asana, or sitting meditation posture, of Patanjali's Raja yoga,[36] it marks the development of asanas (plural) as full body 'postures' now in popular usage.[37]

Hatha Yoga in its many modern variations is the style that many people associate with the word "Yoga" today.[38] Because its emphasis is on the body through asana and pranayama practice, many western students are satisfied with the physical health and vitality it develops and are not interested in the other seven limbs of the Raja Yoga tradition.[citation needed]

[edit] Yoga practices in other traditions

Although Yoga has basically been a Hindu practice, its elements have crept throughout the world and major religions like Buddhism, Jainism, Sufism, all being mystic religions, have embraced the practice as being a holy one.

[edit] Yoga and Sufism

The development of Sufism was considerably influenced by Indian yogic practises, where they adapted both physical postures (asanas) and breath control (pranayama).[39] The ancient Indian yogic text, Amritakunda, ("Pool of Nectar)" was translated into Arabic and Persian as early as the 11th century. [40]

[edit] Yoga and Buddhism

Main article: Yoga and Buddhism

Yoga is intimately connected to the religious beliefs and practices of the Indian religions.[41] The influence of Yoga is also visible in Buddhism, a descendant of Hinduism, which is distinguished by its austerities, spiritual exercises, and trance states.[42][43]

[edit] Yogacara Buddhism

Yogacara (Sanskrit: "Practice of Yoga [Union]"[44] ), also spelled yogāchāra, is a school of philosophy and psychology that developed in India during the 4th to 5th centuries.

Yogacara received the name as it provided a yoga, a framework for engaging in the practices that lead to the path of the bodhisattva.[45] The Yogacara sect teaches yoga in order to reach enlightenment.[46]

[edit] Ch'an (Seon/Zen) Buddhism

Zen (the name of which derives from the Sanskrit "dhyana" via the Chinese "ch'an"[47]) is a form of Mahayana Buddhism. The Mahayana school of Buddhism is noted for its proximity with Yoga.[43] In the west, Zen is often set alongside Yoga; the two schools of meditation display obvious family resemblances.[48] This phenomenon merits special attention since the Zen Buddhist school of meditation has some of its roots in yogic practices.[49] Certain essential elements of Yoga are important both for Buddhism in general and for Zen in particular.[50]

[edit] Tibetan Buddhism

Yoga is central to Tibetan Buddhism. In the Nyingma tradition, practitioners progress to increasingly profound levels of yoga, starting with Mahā yoga, continuing to Anu yoga and ultimately undertaking the highest practice, Ati yoga. In the Sarma traditions, the Anuttara yoga class is equivalent. Other tantra yoga practices include a system of 108 bodily postures practiced with breath and heart rhythm. Timing in movement exercises is known as Trul khor or union of moon and sun (channel) prajna energies. The body postures of Tibetan ancient yogis are depicted on the walls of the Dalai Lama's summer temple of Lukhang. A semi-popular account of Tibetan Yoga by Chang (1993) refers to Dumo, the generation of heat in one's own body, as being "the very foundation of the whole of Tibetan Yoga" (Chang, 1993, p7). Chang also claims that Tibetan Yoga involves reconciliation of apparent polarities, such as prana and mind, relating this to theoretical implications of tantrism.

[edit] Yoga and Islam

Malaysia's top Islamic body has passed a fatwa against Muslims practicing yoga, saying it had elements of "Hindu spiritual teachings" and could lead to blasphemey and therefore haraam. Muslim yoga teachers in Malaysia have criticized this decision and the fatwa as "insulting". [51] The fatwa was reportedly applied based on the conclusion that terms like asanas used in Yoga are "Hindu" in nature. [52] Ironically, the fatwa actually states that yoga practiced only in its physical exercise form to be permissible; however as explained in the official position paper, yogic spiritual teachings and goals such as annihilation of self and uniting of a human with God is not consistent with Islamic philosophy and faith. [53]. News of the yoga ban prompted criticism from activists and outrage from Yoga practitioners.[54][55]

[edit] Yoga and Tantra

Main article: Tantra

Tantrism is a practice that is supposed to alter the relation of its practitioners to the ordinary social, religious, and logical reality in which they live. Through Tantric practice an individual perceives reality as maya, illusion, and the individual achieves liberation from it.[56] This particular path to salvation among the several offered by Hinduism, links Tantrism to those practices of Indian religions, such as yoga, meditation, and social renunciation, which are based on temporary or permanent withdrawal from social relationships and modes.[56]

During tantric practices and studies, the student is instructed further in meditation technique, particularly chakra meditation. This is often in a limited form in comparison with the way this kind of meditation is known and used by Tantric practitioners and yogis elsewhere, but is more elaborate than the initiate's previous meditation. It is considered to be a kind of Kundalini Yoga for the purpose of moving the Goddess into the chakra located in the "heart," for meditation and worship.[57]

[edit] Goal of yoga

The goal of yoga may range from anywhere between improved health and reaching Moksha.[58] Within the monist schools of Advaita Vedanta and Shaivism the goal of yoga takes the form of Moksha, which is liberation from all worldly suffering and the cycle of birth and death (Samsara), at which point there is a realisation of identity with the Supreme Brahman. In the Mahabharata, the goal of yoga is variously described as entering the world of Brahma, as Brahman, or as perceiving the Brahman or Atman that pervades all things.[59] For the bhakti schools of Vaishnavism, bhakti or service to Svayam bhagavan itself is the ultimate goal of the yoga process, wherein perfection culminates in an eternal relationship with Vishnu, Rama or Krsna.[60]

Originally Posted by Suffiyan007

if yoga is in fatwa, but how about china...like acrobatic...similar to yoga..! and the gymnastic....????

first and foremost read and accept or refute >>
http://www.islamicboard.com/general/...ml#post1051104 (Malaysian Fatwa: Yoga is Haraam for Muslims)
and
http://www.islamicboard.com/general/...ml#post1051342 (Malaysian Fatwa: Yoga is Haraam for Muslims) only then will I reply to your new questions

Yoga had been prohibited by religious authorities in Singapore and Egypt... why no body ever bothered... but when Malaysia did it... it has become everyone's matter...

I wonder if they can practice it using Islamic mantras instead?

What if the movement in yoga is adapted and we call it another name, say, "silat badan". Is it okay then?

I know that the Malaysian government also had banned many "silat" forms in malaysia.

Other alternatives: Tai chi maybe? Or skateboarding is cool too. :-)

what part of "Yoga is synonymous with Hinduism", some of you people are having trouble grasping?

"A Yogi is either one who wants liberation from all worldly suffering and the cycle of birth and death, at which point there is a realisation of identity with the Supreme Brahman (the ultimate Reality or supreme self). In the Mahabharata, the goal of yoga is described as entering the world of Brahma.

or

It is a service to svayam bhagavān (Sanskrit for "The Lord" or Lord Himself),which is the ultimate goal of the yoga process, wherein perfection culminates in an eternal union with hindu trinity or gods Vishnu, Rama or Krsna"

BTW. In Hinduism every living being is Brahman and It is said:"Any one who knows the supreme Brahman becomes Brahman indeed" what better way to find him than to become a yogi? You can read all about it in > Bhagavad-gītā

Originally Posted by doorster

what part of yoga is synonymous with Hinduism, some of you people are having trouble with grasping?

I agree. Yoga as practiced in it's meaning is an act of devotion and as such would be worshiping a God other then Allaah(swt). Shirk for us Muslims.

The physical aspects of yoga may be beneficial, but to be yoga it extends beyond simple exercise. It is a religious act.

I can see the attraction of it as an exercize. But, true Salat would also give the same benefits. I doubt if any of our Hindu members would substitute our salat for yoga, by the same token we should not substitute yoga for salat or shorten our salat to make time for yoga.

Therein lies the conflict. Not because yoga is wrong, but because it would easily become a path to interfere with our practice of Islam.

Originally Posted by Takumi

What if the movement in yoga is adapted and we call it another name, say, "silat badan". Is it okay then?

I know that the Malaysian government also had banned many "silat" forms in malaysia.

Other alternatives: Tai chi maybe? Or skateboarding is cool too. :-)

Silat badan? LOL and for every "aum" is substituted with "Allah"? Sounds so sufistic...

One of the famous silat banned in Malaysia is Nasrul Haq.

Tai Chi - cool.....

Skateboarding? Almost all Muslim yoga practicioners are middle age urban women... you want them to skateboarding?