Man, as we all know, is body and spirit, for without spirit body alone cannot function as man and without body the spirit cannot be functioning in this world of matter.  It is well said: "A sound mind in a sound body".  It means that the soundness of the spirit or mind depends on the soundness of the body.  Physical health is a necessity if one wants to upgrade or maintain his mental or spiritual health.  Mankind knew this truth from the earliest times of its history.  Therefore, irrespective of whether any religion is based on revelation or philosophy, all religions have all along been emphasizing on the need for the healthiness of the body.

To ensure the healthiness of the body one has to pay attention to cleanliness of one’s body and one’s environment, to regulate one’s sleeping habits, to take care of proper bodily postures through exercises, to regulate the food habits, to train oneself in the right breathing habits etc.  There is no people in any part of the world who did not try out and gain experience in the varying methods of these physical perfections and arrive at some conclusions.  Such conclusions need not necessarily be right always, for some of such conclusions may prove wrong in particular cases and in particular circumsta-nces.  To such experiences, people gave different names at different parts of the world.  These experiences and exercises to perfect the physical fitness of man do not belong to any particular race or religion.  These are mere physical exercises to keep the body fit, though of course, the physical fitness so attained may assist man in his pursuit of spiritual perfection.  To this category of physical exercises belong the YOGA practices which has been prevalent in the Indian Sub-Continent, like the other types of physical exercises known by other names in other parts of the world.

The YOGA practices in India has not been particular to any religious community in India.  Almost all religions in India had no objection to these practices, since these are mere physical exercises and nothing more.  This is because religion teaches us, as regards cleanliness, the proper methods of keeping oneself and one’s environment clean, as regards sleep, it teaches us the proper sleeping habits, as regards controlling of breath and maintaining proper physical postures, too, religion has amply guided us.  And as regards proper eating habits, too, religion has not left us without right guidance.  Therefore, the purpose of YOGA agrees with the purpose of religion in so far as the proper upkeep of our physical body.  Therefore, there is nothing wrong in a Muslim practising YOGA exercises so long as it is not tainted with anything else than pure physical exercise.

The Muslims of the Indian Sub-Continent had many Sufis well trained in YOGA exercises.  Many of them were masters of all these exercises and even surpassed in excellence their contemporaries, in all aspects, in the golden age of YOGA itself.  Therefore, YOGA is not foreign to Muslims.  Since every Muslim has body and spirit, like all other human beings and since YOGA is only a set of physical exercises to make one’s body fit for carrying out spiritual exercises, Muslims, too, need to keep their bodies fit for their spiritual exercises, in order to perfect themselves.  After all to keep one’s body fit is a religious obligation on every Muslim.  And YOGA is one of the ways of keeping one’s body fit.  Therefore, Muslims can also benefit from practising YOGA.