Once my Respected teacher informed us regarding the time that is wasted in football and gave us a few points to remember, which I will mention below.
May Allah subhanahu watala give us taufique to implement these points. ameen
In a Hadith recorded by Imam al-Tirmidhi in his Sunan, and others, that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, ‘From the excellence of a man’s Islam is to leave that which does not concern him.’
Mulla Ali al-Qari explains in his Mirqaat al-Mafateeh (8:585-586):
‘That is, to leave that which is not important or befitting of him, whether in speech, actions, or thought. Thus, ‘the excellence of a man’s Islam’ is its perfection, such that one remains steadfast in the submission to the commands and prohibitions of Allah, and surrenders to His rulings in accordance to His destiny and decree (Qadaa Wal Qadr). This is the sign of the heart having been expanded by the light of its Lord, and the descent of tranquilly (Sakinah) into the heart. The reality of ‘that which does not concern him’ is that which is not needed for a worldly or next-worldly necessity, and does not aid in attaining his Lord’s good pleasure, such that it is possible to live without it...’
He then gives reference of Allamah al-Teebi, regarding this very Hadith: ‘...it is allusive to withdrawing from anything which occupies one away from Allah...’
Imam al-Baidawi explained the word “Laghw” as in the verse of the Qur’an, speaking of the qualities of the successful believers: ‘…and who shun all vain things (Laghw),’ (al-Qur’an 23:3) he explains that it is: ‘that which does not concern them of speech and actions.’ (Tafsir al-Baidawi)
Qadi Thana’ullah Panipati explains “Laghw” as ‘anything, which will be of no benefit in the Hereafter.’ (Tafsir Mazhhari)
Supporting a football team, seen by many experts as the new religion, is something that holds no benefit for one’s worldly life or his Hereafter. Can you disagree with that? No, you can’t.
This should suffice as a deterrent, eye-opener, and help people to see the truth. But will it? No, it won’t. Why not? It is because one who is blind can not see, even if is eyes are open, even if there is ample light. Oh no, he can’t see.
No, they are not physically blind. ‘Truly it is not their eyes that are blind, but their hearts which are in their breasts.’ (al-Qur’an 22:46)
What causes this blindness of the heart? What is it that snatches away that priceless ability to be able to see and understand the truth? One answer we find is in the Hadith recorded by Imam Abu Dawud, Imam Ahmad and others, that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘Your love for something blinds and deafens.’
It is the deep-rooted love for football, football teams and their players, which is found in the hearts of their followers, supporters and fanatics.
Why else would one speak of them so frequently? Why else would one follow their states and stats with such passion and fervour?
Is the remembrance of Allah Ta’ala on our minds and tongues as much as these people? Search deep into your conscience.
In a Hadith recorded by Imam Abu Nu’aym and Imam al-Daylami the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) is reported to have said, ‘Whoever loves something he remembers it excessively.’ You do the maths.
In another noble Hadith, recorded by Imam al-Bukhari and others, the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, ‘A person shall be with [in the hereafter] whom he loves.’ Who do you want to be with?
The signs of love are blatant. Spending any amount behind something indicates to some sort of value for that thing in our eyes. The general rule is that the more you spend on something, the more it must hold value in your eyes.
How much have you spent behind your team?
If this, and many other things that we find our societies involved in, was to be looked at from the perspective of time wasting, we know the outcome. Everyone knows it is an utter waste of time.
How is ‘waste of time’ defined? The passing of any period of time in which one has gained no benefit is time wasted.
Allah Ta’ala says: By al-'Asr (the time). Verily! Man is in loss. Except those who believe and do righteous deeds, and recommend one another to the Truth and recommend one another to patience. (al-Qur’an 103:1-3)
The ‘loss’ spoken of in this verse is in the form known in Arabic as Nakirah. This form of the noun gives the meaning of generality, perpetuity and graveness (Tafsir Abi ‘Sa’ood and Tafsir al-Baidawi). Furthermore, this ‘loss’ is explained as ‘wasting one’s life’ (Hashiyat al-Saawi ala Tafsir al-Jalalayn)
So man is in an absolute, recurrent, great loss except the ones who believe in Allah Ta’ala and perform righteous deeds. This indicates to the fact that one will always be in a loss, hence, his spiritual state will be deteriorating constantly...unless one performs good deeds. This is not specifically for our subject of discussion at present, rather it can be applied universally as a warning against any act that is mundane and is classed as a waste of time.
Allamah Shabbir Ahmad Uthmani writes in his renowned commentary of the Qur’an, Tafsir-e-Uthmani, under Surat al-Asr: ‘A man should recognise the value of time and should not pass the precious moments of this life in heedlessness, insolence and in useless games and pastimes.’
What’s more, it comes in a Hadith recorded by Imam al-Tabarani that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: ‘the people of Jannah will not have any remorse [over any moment of their worldly life] except a moment, which passed wherein, they did not remember Allah.’
Commonly people say that, ‘It’s better than listening to music, or fornicating etc. ‘There isn’t much that could be worse than these major sins anyway. However, these sins are undoubtedly forbidden and unlawful. One has no choice but to refrain from them. This statement gives off the impression of one who believes it is his favour upon the Deen that he does not commit such acts. Brother, you can’t do those sins anyway, even if you want to! So it cannot be compared to these sins, or any unlawful act. Now compare it to the things that you can do, that are lawful to do. Compare it to those things that you could be doing in that time which you waste. Now where does it stand? How does the comparison look now?
Let’s not even go in to the Salah that are neglected for football, or the disobedience to parents for the sake of football, or the heedlessness from Allah Ta’ala that envelopes each fanatic when his mind is directed to football. How sad the sight was of the Masajid on nights such as those nights in May 2008, and May 2005 and so on. When Allah extended His daily invite to His house for the Isha Saalah, how many rejected Allah’s invite all together? How many told Allah to wait, because the penalty shoot-out was starting?
Imagine the Ghairah of Allah Ta’ala at such a time. What is the Ghairah of Allah? Imam al-Qushairi explains: ‘Ghairah is to dislike participation of another. When the Ghairah of Allah is discussed, it means that He is not pleased with someone else sharing his due of obedience from His servant to Him.’ (Al-Risalat al-Qushairiyyah)
At this point, the lovers will pipe-up with ‘I prayed though’ or ‘it’s not Fardh to pray in the Masjid,’ and so on. Congratulations upon your knowledge and well-done upon your achievement. But just because you found yourself excluded from one of the points mentioned, does that exclude you from the rest?
As for those who do find that they are the ones spoken of in the above example...well...is there much more that can be said?
Really, become a neutral for a few moments and judge the situation. Especially if you are fortunate enough to be a guest of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and grant him peace) - a student of the greatest knowledge: the Ilm of the Qur’an and Sunnah. After knowing of the vastness of the ocean of knowledge, can one really find time for such pointless entertainment?
How difficult is it to sit and study for an hour? How easy is it to sit and watch a match, which lasts for up to two hours?
How difficult is it to spend £20 on a book of knowledge? How easy is it to spend £40-plus on a football t-shirt or to watch a game?
How difficult is it to remember the names of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them)? Who doesn’t remember the names of not just the players of their favourite team, but of hundreds of others’ too?
Why is this the situation? Do we not see that this is a clever scheme of the devil to divert even the chosen servants of Allah? Like with anything, which diverts one from Allah Ta’ala, it pleases the devil and angers our Creator.
Ponder: if you were to be informed that today was your last day to live would you bother with the scores? Would you watch the match? Would you even allow yourself to think of football? No, you wouldn’t. Why? It is because you, and I, and everyone with sound judgement, know that it is not something, which pleases Allah Ta’ala in the slightest. And He, the Almighty, the Supreme, knows best.
