Prohibition of All Types of Gambling.


All Muslims are aware that Islam prohibits gambling. The
prohibition is clearly stated in the Qur’an as well as in
many Hadiths. The Hadiths, which often illustrate the
meaning of the Qur’anic text, provide further explanation
of its applicability, correct people’s misunderstanding,
and clarify its scope.

All societies have different forms of gambling, in
accordance with the prevailing customs, resources and
useful articles they have. These are all grouped together
in Islam under the heading maysir, which we translate as
“games of chance”, where the result depends on chance or
luck, rather than any skill the players have. The types
that the Arabs practiced before Islam are clearly mentioned
so that they would serve as examples for others practiced
by other communities, which naturally have the same Islamic
verdict of prohibition.

Ibn Abbas mentions one form of gambling that prevailed in
pre-Islamic days: “It used to be asked, ‘Where are those
who would join in gambling for a camel? Ten people would
enrol, and they would buy a camel for ten newborn camels to
be handed over at the time when they are weaned. They will
then draw lots, and one would lose, leaving the camel for
the remaining nine. They go on drawing lots until the camel
is settled on one of them, while the rest would have to
give one newborn camel for nothing, at the time of weaning.
This is indeed maysir.” (Related by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab
Al-Mufrad).

This sort of game provided entertainment and excitement as
the participants went about excluding one of their number
at a time. It could have dragged on for sometime, so as to
generate public participation and support to one or the
other of the players. The winner at the end would have had
a very exciting time. But here the number of losers is
limited to nine, while in modern games of chance the number
goes significantly higher. Besides, to the Arabs in
pre-Islamic days, this sort of game was a source of pride,
as the winner did not use the camel he wins for any
purpose. He would slaughter it and give all its meat to the
poor and penniless.

In a sense, this was similar to national lotteries which we
see in many countries. Very large prizes are given to
winners who choose the winning numbers. These are normally
selected at random and entered in accordance with the rules
of the game. If they are drawn at the time when the result
is declared, then the person who chose them is given a
substantial prize. The rest of the money is used by the
government in support of good causes. Many are the
charities, museums, research establishments which benefit
from a share of the lottery money. Yet Islam does not
permit this. It is totally forbidden.

The point about lottery and similar games that give the
proceeds or a portion of them to good causes is that people
are motivated only by the desire to win a large sum of
money for themselves. They are not thinking of the good
causes when they buy their lottery ticket. They only think
of the great prospect that would open before them if they
win. Moreover, when the government runs a lottery to
support “good causes” it assumes that society is devoid of
goodness and that people would not donate to such good
causes unless they dwindle before them the prospect of
winning a large amount of money. Islam prefers instead to
enhance the motives to do good among its followers, so that
they seek to win God’s pleasure, rather than an amount of
money, however large it may be.

The Qur’an describes all games of chance as an “abomination
devised by Satan” (5: 90) to highlight its effect on
participants and society. Hence, its prohibition is not in
doubt. We also note that the view of early Muslims, such as
the rightly-guided caliphs, was very strict on it. A report
by Rabeeah ibn Abdullah ibn Al-Hadeer, a distinguished and
reliable person who was born during the Prophet’s time and
is considered among the best of tabieen, i.e. successors to
the Prophet’s companions, mentions: “Two men gambled over
two roosters during Umar’s reign. Umar ordered that
roosters be killed. A man from the Ansar said to him,
‘would you kill a community of God’s creation which
glorifies Him?’ Umar did not proceed with his order.”
(Related by Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad).

This is an example of the seriousness with which all
gambling was viewed in the early period of Islam. When two
people wanted to engage in a game of cockfighting he wanted
to prevent this ever happening again by killing the birds
used for such a purpose. Needless to say, the birds have no
say in organizing the fight or what people gamble with.
They are indeed the victims, as in a cockfight both birds
suffer a great deal, and one or both may die as a result.

Yet people are always willing to risk their money in the
hope of winning a larger sum. The Prophet shows a good way
to overcome this temptation. Abu Hurayrah quotes the
Prophet as saying: “Whoever of you swears and (unwittingly)
includes in his oath Al-Lat and Al-Uzza should say, ‘there
is no deity other than God’, and whoever says to a friend,
‘let us bet’, should give the money to charity.” (Related
in all six authentic anthologies)

The first point in this Hadith mentions a mistake that the
new Muslims could unwittingly make. They might, by the
force of habit, include the two main idols that the Arabs
used to worship before Islam in their oaths. The Prophet
tells them that anyone who says this unwittingly should
follow it by confirming his belief in God’s oneness,
repeating the first part of the main declaration we say to
state that we are Muslims, i.e. La ilaha illa Allah. Thus,
the person concerned confirms his belief in God’s oneness
and renders the inclusion of those idols in his oath as
meaningless words.

The Prophet also gives us an order that anyone who suggests
a bet, risking some money for any reason, should give that
money in charity. This atones for his mistake and earns him
some reward for his money. Thus, he ensures that he wins,
because the reward he gains for his charity is certainly
greater than any amount he could win as a result of betting
or gambling.


 For more detail treatment of this subject,please refer to
the book "the lawful and prohibited in Islam" by Sheikh
Yusuf Qaradaqi

Quoting a Hadith in Paraphrase


Q. Is it permissible to cite a Hadith or a verse of the
Qur’an the wording of which a person does not remember
exactly, saying that he is quoting its meaning but not its
text?

A. It is very important to remember that the Prophet (peace
be upon him) warns against attributing to him something
that he did not say. He said: “Whoever deliberately
attributes a falsehood to me has his place reserved for him
in hell.” This was the reason why many of his companions
did not quote him when they explained Islamic principles
and teachings. However, it is permissible to cite the
meaning of a Hadith, provided that we make clear that we
are not quoting the Prophet. We should make clear to our
audience that we are only giving the meaning, or an
approximation of it. Scholars have taught us that when we
want to cite a Hadith, we better take the precaution of
stating that ‘this is the gist of the Hadith’, even when we
know it by heart. This is to guard against any error in the
transmission of the Hadith.

The same applies to the Qur’an. If one is not sure of the
exact wording of a verse he wants to cite, he should state
clearly that he is not making a quotation, but rather
paraphrasing the text.

Prayers and Frequent Travel

Q. A man travels twice a week to Riyadh from Al-Kharj,
where his family lives. In which city should he shorten his
prayers, considering that he stays only two days a week
with his family. What should he do when he prays in a
mosque considering that he must shorten prayers during
travel? May I also ask whether a woman can lead the
prayers, if there are 3 women who want to pray? What is the
minimum number required for a congregational prayer of
women only?

A. The man should decide which of the two places he
considers his hometown where he should pray normally. He
then shortens his prayers when he travels to the other
town. On face value, we say that his hometown is where his
wife and children live. Although he stays with them only
two days a week, he considers himself traveling when he
goes to the other place, unless he feels that this is his
home and his family are staying in Al-Kharj temporarily, or
for a specific reason. If he is praying in a mosque in
Riyadh, he follows the imam, completing his prayers like
the imam. He cannot pray with the imam two rak’ahs and
finish his prayers, abandoning the congregation. It is not
a sin for a traveler to offer his prayers the full length,
as you indicate. He certainly should avail himself of the
concession given by God for travelers, because God loves
that His concessions are implemented in the same way as
hard duties.

Two persons is the minimum number required for a
congregational prayer, whether these happen to be two men,
two women or a man and a woman. If there are a group of
women worshipers, then they pray together with one of them
as the imam. She stands in the middle of the first row, on
the same line, not in front of them.












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