exercise, yet the Swedish regime itself is barely a century old, whereas the regimen of the Islamic prayer has been in place for fourteen hundred years.

Shaykh Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm remarked, “Engaging in any kind of sport during the appointed time of an obligatory prayer is never permissible; it is one of the reprehensible acts that must be condemned. If the activity does not coincide with a prayer time, then we see no obstacle to its permissibility.”

Thus, the general ruling on sports in Islam is that they are lawful and even commendable, so long as they remain wholesome pursuits that train a person for jihad, invigorate the body, and strengthen the spirit.