Islam And The Martial Arts. Part 3: " Shomen "

"In The Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful" 

While I always endeavor to go beyond the discussion of the permissible; Halaal, and the impermissible; Haraam , in my research into the field of Islam and the martial arts by focusing my attention to the deeper self development lessons that Muslims can take from their martial arts training. There are times when these issues need to be addressed so that our disciplined practice of our chosen arts do not transgress the limits of our faith.  

One such area that needs to be addressed is the practice of bowing or showing some form of respect to the Dojo shrine which would be found mostly in traditional martial arts schools.

This shrine which is commonly referred to as the Shomen, Shinzen or Kamiza finds its roots within Shintoism. The Kamiza ( spiritual seat )   itself often contains a miniature replica of a Shinto shrine called the Kamidana ( God shelf )

An example of a Kamiza or Shomen

An example of a Kamidana 

It is also not uncommon to see the Shomen dicorated with a picture of the founder of the art being practiced or with other artifacts such a sword set.

Shomen or Kamiza with a picture of a senior teacher, Katana set and scrolls.

The original intent of the Shomen was to serve as a spiritual anchor within the Dojo, the spiritual heart of the Dojo to which a great deal of respect and veneration was shown.

The bows , both before and after practice, to the Shomen was intended to show respect to the art, the founder of the art being practiced  but also to the spirits of the Shinto deities believed to be enshrined within the Kamidana. 

Today; many schools which still keep Shomen in whichever form do not ascribe any religious significance to it and maintain Shomen out of a sense of tradition.

However, as Muslims the idea of bowing or offering a gesture of respect to an inaminate object sharply  contradicts with our faith, especially when the object in question contains artifacts of a religious nature ,the core function of which Islam is radically opposed to.

Thus, I have deduced through research and analysis that bowing before or showing any other gesture of respect to the Shomen is impermissible and should not be practiced by Muslims.

This does not mean , however, that we cannot display the traditional name scrolls or the emblems of our martial art traditions on the walls of our Dojo,  except that we should not attach any undue significance to them.

I can hear the critics though, asking ; "how do we show respect to our art, the place in which we train and the founders of our art? " The answer to this is rather simple and lies in the attitude and behavior that we bring into the Dojo, our practice and the life lessons that we take from our art.

Islam is free of superstition and it's adherents only bow their heads to what made man and not to what man made.

Wallahu Alam.