Salam dear brothers,I myself am a sunni by akida. But only sunniyat does not make every sunni always correct.
We need to have an open mind and knowledge before judging about anything.
I have knowledge about yoga. I am doing it since last 25 years.
Infact, if we care a bit more about our namaz, than we can attract these people who are running after YOGA crazily,(I mean the western people and also the hindus) towards islam.
Just take a good example (It may help you brothers and sisters too, sometime in future if you come across some person in conversation about this topic)
One of the best yogas is ASTHANGASANA. There are others too like Shirshasana, vruschikasana etc.
ASTH-ANG-ASANA --> Asth = eight(8), ANG = body and ASANA = body position(exercise)
ASTHANGASANA means a body position in which 8 parts of body are used to do an exercise.
Now consider SAJDA(SUJUD). In it, ALHAMDULILLAH, we touch our eight body parts on ground
(1)forehead, (2)nose, (3)two palms, (4)two knees, (5)two feet, --> so total becomes 8 body parts. So do we become a kafir? Our SAJADAH is their Asthangasana.
Now just imgine, if ASTHANGASANA is one of the best asanas, than we are performing this asana almost 100 times in a day. HOW?
We pray 5 farz namaz in a day and total RAKATS of all 5 namaz including farz, sunnat, vittar and nawafils is 48 rakat.
Now in each rakat we make two SAJADAH, so two Asthangasana, so total 48 x 2 = 96 (almost 100)
Now if we explain this to hindus and other westerners who are very interested in yoga than dont you think they will be attracted towards ISLAM ? InshaALLAH they will be.
YOGA is only an exercise but it has been intentionally and professionally adopted by hindus while religiously and unintentionally adopted by muslims. I dont care which yoga helps more or which helps less. What I am interested in is that what our beloved prophet Mohammed (SAWS) has told us to do, pray five times in a specific manner, thats it.
Hindus have added mantras and shlokas of their religion into it and thats how they are even propagating their religion. Once I attended a course in yoga. The teacher was a sikh and mostly the pupils were hindus and only I was muslim. That guru told to sit in a position of yoga and chant mantras and shlokas to all. BUT AS HE KNEW I AM A MUSLIM, HE PERSONALLY TOLD ME TO CHANT WHATEVER I CAN OF MY RELIGION THAT I THOUGHT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE. According to the big gurus of yoga, chanting a perticular mantra or shloka is not important and similarly praying to a particular god or goddess is also not important. What is important according to these yoga gurus is to acquire a good perfect body position and to chant something in which we have interest and faith, so that it can help us have concentration and self confidence.
THAN IMAGINE WHERE THE WHOLE LOT WAS CHANTING LOUDLY THEIRE HINDU MANTRAS, I WAS ALONE CHANTING *LA ILAHA ILLALLAH MUHAMMADURRASULALLAH* and *ALLAHU AKBAR* AND OFCOURSE LOUDLY JUST LIKE THEM.
and I really enjoyed it. ALHAMDULILLAH.
Why shouhldn't we accpet yoga and infact mould it in our islamic format and have islamic yoga ?
Where in we can make people do RUKU' and SUJUD and TASAHHUD etc. and make them chant our holy kalimas.
Please let me know if my thinking is wrong . and better you people be polite and open minded to answer.
I dont need any direct fatawas on me.
May ALLAH guide us all on to the right path.
Aamin.
