Noor ‘Ala Ad-Darb: The Ruling on Women Practicing Sports
Question:
A sister from Basra Governorate in Iraq, identified by the initials (M. ‘A. Dal.), says: Our sister’s letter is somewhat lengthy, but its summary is a question regarding sports for girls.
Answer:
Sports is a broad and general term, and sports among girls may include activities that do not contravene the purified Islamic law, such as extensive walking in a place reserved exclusively for them, where men do not mix with them and cannot see them, or swimming among themselves in their home or in their private school, where men neither see them nor have access to them. There is no harm in that.
As for sports in which mixing between men and women occurs, or in which men can see them, or which cause evil among the Muslims, such activities are not permissible. Therefore, the matter requires distinction and clarification.
Sports that are exclusive to women, in which there is no Shar‘i violation, and in which there is no mixing with men, but rather they take place in a screened location and a place far from intermingling, are un-objectionable, whether they consist of walking, swimming, or similar activities. The same applies to competitions held among them. Yes.
(Shaykh Abdul Azeez bin Abdullah bin Baaz Rahimahullah)
Saheehus-Seerah 