Kuwaiti preacher, Mubarak al-Bathali, claimed in a tweet that God punished Mohamed Salah for eating before the Champions League final.
Mubarak al-Bathali claimed that Salah sinned by breaking his fast for the match, adding that the Egyptian was poorly advised and that he will “unfortunately bear the burden” for it, reported Spanish football site, AS.
He added that while Muslims are allowed to stop fasting for travel, eating and drinking in order to play a football match is “not a legitimate excuse.”
“Do not think the Muslim believes that life is managed by reason and effort, but life in the hand of God comes to whom he wills, whether hard or not diligent,” Al-Bathali wrote. “Perhaps (the injury) is good for you.”
See the tweet:
كم قصة سمعناها ربط الحادث بالحدث ..؟
ان فلان كان ظالم او فلان عمل كذا فعاقبه الله ..!
من اخبركم ان الله عاقبه ..؟
لهذا الذي حصل مع اللاعب محمد صلاح ليس من القصص التي نسمعها إنها من واقعنا ولهذا لا تصدقون ..
ثم ان الله عز وجل يعاقب المؤمن الصادق ليرجعه عن خطأه او غفلته ..— مبارك البذالي (@mubaark) May 30, 2018
Auto translation provided by Twitter reads: “How many stories have we heard linking the incident to the event..?
That a person was unjust or this person did that God punish him. Who told you that God is the consequence of..?
“For this which happened with the player Muhammad Salah is not one of the stories that we hear that it is from our reality and for that you do not believe…
“Then Allah Almighty punishes the honest believer to return him from his mistake or sleepy heads.”
The preacher also praised Salah for being an ambassador for Islam in the West and for having habits such as walking away when his teammates drink alcohol. “Do not grieve, the door of repentance is open,” he concluded.
READ ALSO: Super Eagles’ physiotherapist, equipment manager denied Austrian visa to final phase camping
It may be recalled that the striker lasted just half an hour of Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid at the Champions League Final in Kiev, after being forced off with a suspected dislocated shoulder sustained during a tussle with Sergio Ramos.
The 22-year-old ace will be sidelined for no more than three weeks but is expected to play a part in Egypt’s World Cup campaign.
Initially, it was reported that Salah was going to continue fasting in the build-up to the Champions League final. However, Liverpool’s physiotherapist Rubén Pons later confirmed that the Egyptian would break fasting temporarily for the two days prior to the final.
During Ramadan, Muslims are not allowed to eat or drink from dawn to sunset, engaging in an increased prayer activity. However, fasting is only obligatory for healthy Muslims. Anyone who is suffering from an illness, traveling, elderly, pregnant, breastfeeding or menstruating are exempt from the practice.
(AS)
