Home
Discover Islam
Quran Recitations
Lectures
Fatwa
Articles
Fiqh
E-Books
Women
Boys & Girls 
Enter Question
View By Subject
Fatwa Of The Week
Selected Fatwa
Fatwa CenterWearing Clothing with Nike Symbol
Question
Is it permissible to wear clothing bearing Nike symbol, as I learned recently that Nike got their name from the Greek goddess of Victory?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
Wearing a garment with the logo of Kufr (disbelief) is prohibited in Islam since Islam prohibits imitating non-Muslims. The Prophet said: “Whoever imitates some people, he is one of them."
Another narration reads: “…. he will be resurrected with them.”
The above Hadeeth is a severe threat to those people who imitate non-Muslims in their style or manners of talking, acting, wearing, worshipping, or in their feasts, or in any other matters which are not legislated for us and are not approved by us.
Note that the Prophet disavowed any connection with the Muslim who lives among non-Muslims and does not distinguish himself from them in his manners, deeds and practices; let alone a person who carries a logo of Kufr with him.
Imam Abu Dawood narrated in his Sunan that the Prophet said: “I am exempt from any Muslim who lives among the polytheists.” When they asked him (the Prophet ), he said: “The Fire of Muslims should not be seen with the fire of the polytheists.”
The sign of “Nike”, on the garments which many Muslims wear, is a sign of a goddess of victory, daughter of the giant Pulas, as the Greeks believed.
So, every Muslim is obliged to avoid a sign of Kufr and he should not take with him such a sign even though the sign is no longer used as the logo of Kufr. How can one use a sign and name of a goddess of Greece? The evidence for this ruling is that the Prophet's asked the person who has vowed to slaughter a camel at “Buwanah" the following question: “Did the place contain any idol worshipped in the Pre-Islamic times?” [Abu Daawood]
If there was an idol in the Pre-Islamic Era, then slaughtering at that place would be forbidden even though the idol/idols had been removed. Then, how could it be permissible to use those things which used to indicate Kufr?
For more benefit on wearing clothes bearing Nike name or logo, please refer to Fataawa 348154, 344872, 289621, and 131412.
Allah knows best.
Search Fatwa
Fatwa Subject
