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GAMBLING
To
give a material good or take it depending on something of
which its end is not known before. Whatever it’s name
all games and to that has this future and are played in
return of money or good is gamble. Because it is having
or giving possession easily, in the Noble Quran the word
it is described with “meysir” derived from the
word “yüsr”- easiness.
Gambling is a way of
earning that causes the man to forget his Lord, prevents
from ritual worship, leads to laziness and destroys the
power for work and spreads enmity and grudge between people.
Every kinds of gambling which spoils the life of individual
and social life are banned in the religion of Islam.
About this topic in
yje Noble Quran it is declared:
“And
do not eat up your property among yourselves for vanities
nor use it as bait for the judges with intent that ye may
eat up wrongfully and knowingly a little of (other) people's
property.” (1)
”O
ye who believe! eat not up your property among yourselves
in vanities: but let there be amongst you traffic and trade
by mutual good-will: nor kill (or destroy) yourselves: for
verily Allah hath been to you Most Merciful.”(2)
“O
ye who believe! intoxicants and gambling (dedication of)
stones and (divination by) arrows are an abomination of
Satan's handiwork: eschew such (abomination) that ye may
prosper.”(3)
1. Chapter El- Bakara,
2/188;
2. Chapter En- Nisa, 4/29
3. El- Maide, 5/90, 91
The
Damages of Gambling:
There is no difference
between gambling and drinking alcohol in respect of being
prohibited and declared as sin. Allah The Most High prohibited
both of them in the same Verse:
“O ye who believe! intoxicants and
gambling (dedication of) stones and (divination by) arrows
are an abomination of Satan's handiwork: eschew such (abomination)
that ye may prosper.” (Chapter el-
Maide, 5/90)
All games of luck which
bring profit or loss to the player is gambling. It is to
take other’s property with injustice and to commit
a collective theft being conscious of it. Gamble is a social
disaster. It is always seen that this destroying evil which
is severely banned by religion perished many families and
cause their misery. Who do not abandon the gambling all
night with the excitement stems from greed; leaves their
health, money, morals and time there and are estranged from
humanely qualities. Who wins once will lose in another day.
In the money lost in gambling there is the right of
families and poor people. The money earned from it is not
canonically lawful. As games of chance become widespread
its social damages increases. Laziness is replaced by working.
The productivity in business life falls down. Gambling brings
the evils like alcohol, telling lies, greed, revenge, murders
together.
In family life gambling
causes disorder, disagreement, neglect in the family. There
are many people who give up his belief, honor and country
and disregard all sacred values because of these games.
Just like alcohol gambling
also becomes an addiction in a short time. It becomes difficult
to give it up. So drinking alcohol and gambling are very
dangerous habits.
All kinds of games of
chance like throwing dice cards of gamble, lottery, Toto
that cause to earn or lose money in the end is defined as
gamble.
At the beginning all
these games are played for having fun and a pass time. As
the person wins the game, he goes on playing for the pleasure
and greed of winning. As he loses he again goes on to compensate
his loss. At the end he becomes a gambler. It should be
kept in mind that gamblers, who lose everything in games,
sell all their properties and lay to risk, spent all life
in misery and perish their families considered the game
as having fun in the first days.
Besides avoiding gamble
it is also a duty to protect others especially members of
family from games of chance which is a social disaster.
In the Noble Quran the task to prevent the members of family
from evil deeds and the education of them in a way that
Allah the Most High and his Apostle approve is given to
the head of families:
“O
ye who believe! save yourselves and your families from a
Fire whose fuel is Men and Stones over which are (appointed)
angels stern (and) severe who flinch not (from executing)
the Commands they receive from Allah but do (precisely)
what they are commanded.” (Chapter
Et- Tahrim, 66/6)
If the games like backgammon,
card games, tennis and billiards are played as a gamble
and an earning is expected from them, there is no doubt
that they are also assumed as gamble.
There are various hadiths
of Our Prophet which ban backgammon. “Who plays backgammon
becomes rebellious against Allah and his Apostle”.
(Ebu Davud, Edeb, 56; Ibn Mace, Edeb, 43; Malik, Muvatta’,
6 ; Ahmet b Hanbel, Müsned, IV, 394/397, 400).
“ Who starts ritual worship after
playing backgammon is like a person who perform ablution
with pus and the blood of a pig instead of water and then
starts worship” (Ahmet b Hanbel
, V,370).
By considering the general
prohibition in the hadiths above most of Islamic authorities
said it is not permitted to play backgammon whether it is
gamble or not. Ibn El Müseyyeb and other savants had
the opinion that backgammon is not prohibited when it is
not for the aim of gamble. Card games and dominoes have
the same character with backgammon.
Chess which is known
as “satranch” in Arabic came into being after
the Prophet -peace be upon him-. So we do not have a genuine
tradition from Prophet about this topic. Companion of the
Prophet and their followers put forward three different
opinions:
According to the companions of the Prophet and the savants
who followed them, like Abdullah b. Abbas, Ebu Hureyre,
Ibn Sirîn, Hisam b. Urve, Saîd b. El- müseyyeb,
Saîd b. El- Cübeyr, chess is permissible.
According to Imam Safii,
chess is disgusting; according to Abu Hanifa, Malik and
Ahmed bin Hanbel it is prohibited by religion.
By taking into consideration
that chess is a game of intelligence, sports of brain and
also there is not a clear prohibition of it, savants tried
to come to a conclusion. But it is understood that Companions
of the Prophet compared it to backgammon. It is narrated
that Abdullah b.Omar said: “Chess is worse than backgammon.”
It is stated that His Excellency Ali regarded it as a kind
of gambling. (Ibn Kesir, Tefsiru’l- Kurani’l-
Azim, Istanbul 1985, III, 170).
Besides it is narrated
that Yahya b.Said heard these words from Imam Malik: “There
is no use in chess and it is evil - mekruh- to play it and
other false games of chances” While telling these
words Imam Malik was reading this Verse: “(Yunus,
10/32; bk. Malik, Muvatta, Ri’ya, 7).” The game
of checkers is also a game like chess. But in tennis and
billiards sport is dominating so if other prohibited things
are not on question they are considered as legitimate.
Consequently four conditions
are laid for being allowed the games played for relaxation,
having fun and pleasure without being a mean of gamble.
The game:
1. Should not cause to delay
ritual worship
2. No benefit is expected
3. One should protect his tongue from evil and useless words.
4. That game shouldn’t cause spent of time by accessing
the limits of moderate relaxation and pleasure.
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