Question:

Assalamualaikum Shaykh,

I would like to know if the Batin Martial Art is practice in Islam throughout the generation of any prophets? Someone said there is Saidina Ali Sword practice where u can use your hand as a sword. Is this true?

We call this ‘Silat Batin’. First, you will need to pay some amount of money and the Master will open your internal energy then they give smth to recite from quran, istighfar, zikir and selawat daily. With your niat, you can ask for any martial art movement and your whole body will move. While you move, you can control yourself whether to follow the move or stop. You can also treat people that have problem with jin.

Does this involve jin and haram?
Is there any type of this martial art that is permissible?
Someone said it involve jin. How to get rid of it?

Thank you.

Answer:

wa `alaykum salam

The matter of “Batin Martial Art” is related to the balance of the physical and spiritual mentioned earlier. The physical is outward or apparent and the spiritual is inward, secret or hidden (batin).

Now, a martial art concerns skill in the outward domain of action; concerning “quran, istighfar, zikir and selawat,” these obviously belong to the spirituality of Islam. Authority over both domains was a speciality of the Seal of Prophets, peace be upon him, and of those inheriting from him, especially the caliphs. It is not merely a matter of combining the apparent and hidden as might be found outside the lands of Islam; it is a matter of a unity that transcends dualities.

This is important to understand when considering the jinn, since the Holy Prophet was sent with an authority over men and jinn.

Just as martial arts have lines of transmission, the lines of spiritual transmission are well known, and belong to the realm of tariqat. Since Sayyidina `Ali – may Allah ennoble his face – is both a master of tariqat and swordsmanship, it should not be surprising to find his name associated with a specific method.

As for these specific methods in the realm of batin that exert power over the domain of action – after all, the spiritual is greater than the physical –  that is for the knowers of such things in tariqat to guard and transmit to the trustworthy.

The Chisti Shaykh Hafiz Muhammad Jamal al-Multani – may Allah sanctify his secret – famously would pass the secret of archery to his disciples.

Of course, a tariqat representative of the Prophet would never encourage the practice of haram. Perhaps it also goes without saying that to engage in practices relating to the hidden without spiritual authority is fraught with dangers on many levels, especially for the martial artist seeking power. On the other hand, it may be suggested that those embodying the transcendent unity mentioned above are free to adopt valuable aspects of the martial arts which have an apparently foreign origin; examples could be found relating to military strategy, “pagan” weaponry, and even the practice of certain “sports” for training purposes.

Mahmoud Shelton