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Recreational Activities in Islam: A Historical Insight – Sulayman Nyang

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1) Prophet Muhammad (P) Had a Pleasing Disposition
2) Human Beings Are Mirrors to Each Other
3) Recreation: A Recent Development
4) Falconry as a Recreation
5) How to Distinguish Between Halal and Haram Entertainment
6) Traditional Muslims Had Forms of Entertainment
7) The Democratization of Aristocratic Lifestyle
8) Is Your Entertainment Affecting Your Iman?
9) Movies and Music: The Hollywood Dilemma For Muslims
10) Muslim Kids Between Public School and the Masjid
11) Wearing the Hijab While Playing School Sports

Prophet Muhammad (P) was the finest example and reflected within his character the diversity of the human condition. He was not stern all the time but, in fact, was a man of good and pleasing disposition who smiled often. Dr. Sulayman Nyang elaborates on this premise to convey the fact that entertainment and recreation for Muslims is perfectly acceptable. However, he stresses that the manner in which we entertain ourselves must be modeled after the Prophet (P) and that this must be done analytically with the proper understanding of how to apply the sunnah to our circumstances today. This discussion is very relevant for us today, as the speaker explains, because of the difference in life-style from the medieval period to the modern/post-modern period. Forms of entertainment were very limited back then whereas now it is much more widespread. The reality of living in modern America is that leisure time and technology have made available to us the most choices of entertainment at any time throughout human history. Therefore, we must be aware that the hard-line approach to this matter may not be the most beneficial for us but rather a more balanced and practical application of the sunnah regarding entertainment and recreation. Among the many interesting things discussed in this lecture is the idea of music as a form of entertainment among Muslims.

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