Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Is boxing allowed?
Walaikum assalam,
The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him, his family, and companions) said, “There shall be no harming and no reciprocating harm.”[Ahmad, Ibn Maja, and others; Nawawi declared is sound (hasan) in his Majmu` Sharh al-Muhadhdhab (8.238]
The ruling of boxing would depend on how it is practiced:
1. If in a way that undue physical harm is expected to either party, it is not permitted.
2. If in a way that no undue physical is expected to either party, it is permitted.
A leading Islamic scholar of our times, Shaykh Wahba al-Zuhayli, discussed this in his monumental al-Fiqh al-Islami wa Adillatuhu, saying,
“Free wrestling, boxing, and the like are forbidden (haram), because of the harm they cause to human life
However, if there is no harm to either side in the boxing or wrestling, it would be permitted.
Similarly, it would be permitted as a means of training someone for strength, fighting, and self-defence.
It has been established that Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) wrestled Rukana and overcame him [Related by Abu Dawud].” [Zuhayli, al-Fiqh al-Islami wa Adillatuhu, 2668]
And Allah alone gives success.
Walaikum assalam,
Faraz Rabbani.