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Is it permissible to sail the sea for leisure, or is it forbidden?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is permissible to sail on the sea for leisure and other purposes, because the default rule is permissibility. Allah the Almighty has bestowed His grace upon His servants by making it easy for ships to sail in the sea for the benefit of people. Al-Jassas cited as evidence the Almighty's saying: "And the ships that sail through the sea with that which benefits people," and His saying: "It is He who enables you to travel on land and sea," and His saying: "Your Lord is He who drives the ships for you through the sea that you may seek of His bounty." As for the Hadith prohibiting sailing on the sea except for one performing Hajj, Umrah, or a warrior, it is a weak Hadith by the consensus of the Imams. However, it is forbidden to sail on the sea when it is turbulent and stormy, due to the Hadith: "Whoever sails on the sea when it is turbulent and dies, then the covenant is disavowed from him." This implies the permissibility of sailing on it when it is not turbulent.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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