Benefits Regarding Gambling and Its Types from Al-Adab al-Mufrad
Benefit :
Chapter 610:
باب من قال لصاحبه: تعال أقامرك
“The chapter of whomsoever tells his companion: ‘Come, let me gamble/bet with you.'”
He then proceeds to mention the ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah—raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu—wherein the Prophet ﷺ said:
” مَنْ حَلَفَ مِنْكُمْ فَقَالَ فِي حَلِفِهِ: بِاللَّاتِ وَالْعُزَّى، فَلْيَقُلْ: لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَمَنْ قَالَ لِصَاحِبِهِ: تَعَالَ أُقَامِرْكَ، فَلْيَتَصَدَّقْ “
“Whomsoever takes an oath by other than Allāh and says in his oath, ‘I swear by al-Lāt and al-ʿUzzā,’ then let him say, ‘Lā ilāha illallāh.’ And whomsoever says to his companion, ‘Come, let me gamble with you,’ then let him give charity.”
From the benefits we took with our Shaykh Jumʿān—may Allāh preserve him—relating to the topic of discussion:
1. The Meaning of the Word قِمَار (Qimār)
First and foremost, what the word قِمَار refers to, which is a general term that encompasses المَيْسِر (gambling) and الأَزْلَام (using arrows and the likes to draw lots/inducing a lottery-based system).
In essence, the word قِمَار refers to gambling, betting, and the likes of it.
2. The Categorization the Scholars Mention of المَيْسِر (al-Maysir)
The categorization the scholars mention of المَيْسِر (gambling) is of two types:
Type 1: مَيْسِرُ اللَّهو (Maysir al-Lahw)
Referring to every game that busies a person from the remembrance of Allāh and the ṣalāh.
This is impermissible and ḥarām due to its diversion from the remembrance of Allāh and the obligations that Allāh has enjoined upon His believing servants, the most virtuous of them being the prayer.
As Allāh says:
إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَنْ يُوقِعَ بَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَاءَ فِي الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ وَيَصُدَّكُمْ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَعَنِ الصَّلَاةِ ۖ فَهَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُنْتَهُونَ
“Shayṭān (Satan) wants only to excite enmity and hatred between you with intoxicants (alcoholic drinks) and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allāh and from aṣ-ṣalāh (the prayer). So, will you not then abstain?” [Al-Māʾidah: 91]
Type 2: مَيْسِرُ القِمَار (Maysir al-Qimār)
That which involves the risk of losing money and wealth or putting wealth at stake. This is also impermissible, and what renders it ḥarām are two main reasons:
1. The first being the same aforementioned reason of diverting a person from the remembrance of Allāh and the obligations that are upon a person to fulfill.
2. What it contains from consuming the wealth of others without any right, as Allāh says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَكُمْ بَيْنَكُمْ بِالْبَاطِلِ إِلَّا أَنْ تَكُونَ تِجَارَةً عَنْ تَرَاضٍ مِنْكُمْ ۚ وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمْ رَحِيمًا
“O you who believe! Eat not up your property among yourselves unjustly except it be a trade amongst you, by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves (nor kill one another). Surely, Allāh is Most Merciful to you.” [An-Nisāʾ: 29]
Practical Examples
The Shaykh—may Allāh preserve him—then gave some practical examples of the games involving المَيْسِر that are considered قِمَار.
From them were the games that involve paying an entrance fee and offer a cash prize for the winner.
This is because paying the entrance fee involves مُخَاطَرَةٌ بِالْأَمْوَالِ (the risk of losing money and wealth), which is impermissible, along with consuming the wealth of others unjustly, without any due right.
This is because the cash prize is usually funded by the entrance fees of the competitors who sign up for such competitions and tournaments, and whatever is left from the accumulation of entrance fees is taken by the company organizing the tournament as profits.
——
Benefitted From : Shaykh, Ḥāfiẓ, al-Muḥaddith, al-Faqīh, Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Jumʿān Ibn Ramaḍān Laḥmar (حفظه الله ورعاه)
Source : https://t.me/jumanlahmareng
Translated by: Muḥammad al-Maghribī