Short answer
Competitive boxing, kickboxing and MMA, where the aim is to punch the head and face, are not allowed in the Hanafi school and by most contemporary scholars, because the Prophet ﷺ forbade striking the face and Islam forbids serious harm to yourself or others. Boxing training on bags and pads for fitness or self-defence is permitted.
Fighting sports whose aim is to strike the face and head, or to knock the opponent out, are haram. Training that does not involve hitting a person's face, such as bag work, pad work and fitness boxing, is mubah (permitted), and learning self-defence with a good intention is praiseworthy.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Islam encourages strength and fitness. The Prophet ﷺ said the strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak one, and he encouraged archery, riding and racing. So the question is not whether Muslims may train hard. It is whether a sport built on hitting another person's head is allowed.
The Prophet ﷺ said that when one of you fights his brother, let him avoid the face. If the face must be spared even in a real fight, a sport whose main target is the face goes against this. Allah also says do not throw yourselves into destruction, and the sunnah forbids causing harm or returning harm. Boxing and MMA routinely cause concussion, brain injury and sometimes death, and a knockout, the goal of the sport, is a blow to the brain.
For these reasons Hanafi muftis in the Deobandi tradition rule professional and competitive boxing impermissible, and the Islamic Fiqh Council of the Muslim World League ruled the same for professional boxing. The four schools share the principles behind this ruling: guarding life and the body, and the prohibition on striking the face.
What is fine:
- Bag work, pad work, skipping and boxing-style fitness classes.
- Self-defence and martial arts training that avoids blows to the face and head.
- Wrestling and grappling sports, which have a basis in the sunnah, as long as the awrah (navel to knee for men) is covered.
What to avoid: earning a living from fights, watching bouts to enjoy people being hurt, and betting on fights, which is gambling. Some scholars allow light sparring with headgear where the aim is not to injure. Ask a scholar you trust if your training falls in that grey area. See also which sports are sunnah.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Baqara 2:195
وَأَنفِقُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَلَا تُلْقُوا۟ بِأَيْدِيكُمْ إِلَى ٱلتَّهْلُكَةِ ۛ وَأَحْسِنُوٓا۟ ۛ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ ﴿١٩٥﴾
And spend in the way of Allah and do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction [by refraining]. And do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good.
Allah forbids exposing yourself to destruction and serious harm.
Sahih Muslim 2612
Sahih... إذا قاتل أحدكم أخاه فليجتنب الوجه ...
"When one of you fights his brother, let him avoid the face."
Even in a real fight the face is protected, so a sport aimed at the face goes against this.
Sunan Ibn Majah 2341
Graded sahih... لا ضرر ولا ضرار ...
"There is to be no harm and no returning of harm."
Islam forbids causing serious harm to yourself or to others.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Hazr wa al-Ibaha, section on racing and competitions. Sports that train strength and skill, such as racing, archery and wrestling, are permitted; play without benefit is disliked.
- Islamic Fiqh Council of the Muslim World League, Resolution on boxing, free wrestling and bullfighting. Ruled professional boxing haram because of the harm it causes to the body and mind.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.