Fitna is Everywhere!
Gym… park… beach… even a simple walk outside… Where can you go today… without being hit by fitna?
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Gym… park… beach… street… even a simple walk outside…
Tell me honestly — where can you go today… without being hit by fitna?
I know I’m not the only one thinking this… we just don’t talk about it — but at 3MEB, we do. I was thinking about this after Ramadan… Spending a month away from the gym, the question on my mind was simple:
How do I go back… and navigate what I know I’m going to face?
But let’s be real — this isn’t just about the gym.
This is everywhere. Gym, Parks, Beach, Sea, Street, town or on top of a Mountain. And it’s getting worse.
Fitna is Everywhere!
We’re in the summer months… And as the temperature rises… so does the level of fitna. Whether it’s the gym… or the park… You are constantly confronted with levels of exposure, indecency and immorality. That any believer would find deeply uncomfortable. Even more when you’re with your family… your children…
And what’s most concerning? This is becoming normalised. Exposing the body… highlighting shape… drawing attention… This is no longer the exception. It’s the expectation.
And the truth? It’s only going to increase. To what level? Allah knows best. But if history tells us anything…Even nakedness has been normalised before. Pre-Islamic Arabia normalised nakedness around the Kaaba.Now imagine that. But Islam came and restored haya (modesty).
However today? The world is reversing back — but labelling it “progress.”
Fitna at the Gym?
Many of us — myself included — love fitness. Gym, cycling, running, trekking, swimming… positive, healthy pursuits, but not without their challenges. You walk into the gym… You’re there for training… focus… discipline… Within minutes… your eyes are being tested from every direction.
Not because you want to look… But because you almost can’t avoid it. Gym attire has undergone a seismic shift. It was once about comfort and practicality… Today it's about exposure, provocation, shape and transparency. From skin-tight leggings…to scrunch designs…to contour sets… Clothing is now designed to reveal shape, highlight and draw attention to the body. The objective is not fitness. Its highlight and draw attention
Health and fitness used to be about improving cardiovascular health and overall wellbeing… today, it seems the main focus is showcasing your body — especially the posterior — for the world’s attention. And this isn’t confined to the gym.
You see it on the streets… in the park…even on top of a mountain! Clothing today is engineered to objectify women, their body parts and glamorise them for men’s objectification. Turn women’s body into something to be looked at… consumed… admired...ultimately abused.
This is nothing new for western society - sexualising, commercialising, ‘commoditising’ women has long been its practise. And sadly, women — once again — are the victims, succumbing to defined parameters, pressurised into conforming, conditioned and normalised into agreeing to be on display. And the ridiculous becomes absurd – When the same Western liberal secular societies that promotes exposure…Designs clothing to attract attention…Encourages display…introduce laws criminalising looking!
Don’t confuse that for morality. It's the contradiction and flaws of Western secular liberal society.
Challenges of Living in Western Secular Societies
Western secular liberal societies have no moral basis or compass, no real ethics, no definition of shame. Decencydoesn’t exist in western liberalism. In a system driven by man and his desire…Society is free to be as wild and extreme as Epstein files can go and beyond.
As the Prophet ﷺ said, “If you have no shame, then do as you wish.”
When haya is removed… Anything becomes acceptable. And we see it. When a society has no divine compass to guide it, then it is fast on its way to self-destruct
We see this most vividly through the colonial imperial nations. Look to their economic pillaging of world’s resources, political exploitation of the weak, colonial wars causing death and destruction world over and seismic societal decline. This is the West’s definition of ‘progress’, it’s supposed liberation of women it espouses, its international law and order and blueprint for the world it gloats
As Muslims we define this as fitna, immorality, indecencydecadence and oppression.
The beauty of Islam is Muslims are guided by the divine. Anon-shifting paradigm, guideline to morality, ethics, decency, as well as to economics, politics, war fare, social affairs by Islam in the Quran and Sunnah which isn't influenced by the insatiable and evolving desire of man for 1400 years.
What was indecent, immoral, fitna and evil 1400 years is still as evil today.
How to Navigate the Challenges?
So the question arises – Gym or beyond - How do we navigate these challenges and realities? Is it even possible?
Can we not enjoy the gym, trekking, cycling - without having to glare into outright obscenity?
Is it possible to enjoy the park, beach, seaside, park without being drowned by outright nakedness?
Or even take a casual walk or venture in town without being left embarrassed?
Gym
Let’s start with the gym. Calling it halal or haram alone doesn’t solve the issue. Gyms are intrinsically allowed, even encouraged and extremely beneficial. They improve health, strength, discipline.
What is needed is reminder, guidance, perspective and control. We need to be intentional. Practical. Aware.
So what can we do?
Choose same-gender gyms if possible
Train at quieter times
Be strategic and selective on the gym floor
Ultimately remembering lowering the gaze as far as possible
Outright staring is a big No - Haram without any doubt
Because the Prophet ﷺ reminded us — The adultery of the eye is the looking (at what is forbidden).
And that is a reality we must actively guard against.
Trekking, Walking or Town? Beach, Seaside, or the Park?
And what about outside? Parks… streets… beaches… holidays…
The reality is the same. So we adapt:
Change routes. Cross the road. Overtake
Avoid peak times
Choose quieter locations
Look for ‘Muslim friendly’ / halal holiday options
Be conscious… alert, aware not careless
There is no perfect solution. But there is conscious effort. And that matters.
Always remembering - Lowering the gaze, not staring and trying to protect one's eyes from the zina of the eyes is crucial
“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their chastity…”
The Prophet ﷺ said: “The son of Adam has his share of zina decreed for him… The zina of the eyes is looking…”
Pressure on Muslim Sisters
And we have to acknowledge something important. There is immense pressure upon our Muslims Sisters to conform, follow western liberal ‘trends’, blend in. Step by step… handspan by handspan.
From modesty… to tight clothing…from covering… to exposure…Whether in sports, gym, or outside. This pressure is real. And it’s constant.
But our standards don’t come from western liberal secularsociety. They come from Islam. From haya. From dignity. From knowing your worth.
I know, it's easier said than done, especially as a man! I get it and empathise fully. But we must refuse to accept that obscenity, shamelessnessand nakedness is progress or liberation of women.
On the contrary it is the abuse and objectification of womenand we stand against this.
Islam honours, values, protects and holds the woman in the highest of esteem and position. Be proud to wear the badge and articulate the case for Islam. And we should never feel ashamed of that.
Is it time for Hijra?
And this leads to the bigger question…with Western liberal secular society rapidly deteriorating and set to get far worse....Is it time... for Hijrah?
The good old perennial question - For many of us, this has always been theoretical. Something we mention… but don’t take seriously. However, for me personally, my opinion is the threshold ofacceptability has long been crossed.
Now the reality is different. The question isn't about the fitna in the gym. Don’t be sidelined. The question is fitna has become dominant in all aspects of our lives, in the public spaces like never before, unavoidable.
Because this isn’t about one place anymore. It’s about an environment, a society… Where fitna is constant. Unavoidable. And increasing.
When and where do you draw the line is the question?
My biggest concern isn’t just today.
It’s the next generation. Our children and their Islamic identity. It is directly threatened like never before.
What they grow up seeing… What they grow up accepting…What becomes normal to them. That’s the real battle. And for me, that is a red line. As to the other perennial question – To where? No land is perfect. No place is free from challenges.
But we have to ask ourselves seriously:
Where is the deen of our children, future generations safer? Where will their identity be protected? You will find plenty of other challenges in Muslim lands, but perhaps not the obscenity which is on display today in Western liberal secular West?
Ultimately…The solution is bigger than all of this.
It is the unity of the Ummah…Under Islam…in a true Islamic society... where we would be at one with our belief and way of life. Under true leadership. the Caliphate, the Khilafah – but for that we have to work, struggle and articulate its case
Until then… We live in a constant test. So ask yourself:
Are you adapting to the fitna…or actively resisting it?
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