Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Gambling- Bhai could you give me some specific reasons why Allah has mentioned in the Quran to stay away, except for the reason you had mentioned in the earlier email that it deters from the remembrance of Allah. What if I gamble but still do my prayers and other things as commanded by Allah.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Why do we have to stay away from Gambling?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and who-ever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 90-92: O believers, intoxicants, gambling, ungodly shrines, and divining devices are all abominable works of Shaitaan. Therefore refrain from these, so that you may attain true success. Indeed Shaitaan intends to sow enmity and hatred amongst you by means of intoxicants and gambling, and to prevent you from the remembrance of Allah and from Salaat. Will you not, then, abstain from these things? Obey Allah and His Messenger and abstain from these things. But if you disobey, not it well that Our Messenger’s only responsibility was to convey the Message clearly.

Apart from preventing one from the remembrance of Allah, Allah has given many other reasons in the above aayah to refrain from gambling, etc.

Gambling, etc. are all the abominable works of Shaitaan. And Shaitaan is man’s confirmed enemy. His only duty is to incite us to do things which displease Allah.

Gambling, etc. sows enmity amongst the people who gamble, and sometimes even creates enmity between the people who are not directly involved in the act of gambling, like their family and friends.

Gambling, etc. sows hatred amongst the people who gamble.

Gambling, etc. prevents one from the remembrance of Allah.

Gambling, etc. prevents from salaat at their prescribed times.

It is a direct order from Allah, if indeed we believe in Allah and the Last Day.

When the All-Wise, All-Knowing Allah, orders us to stay away from something, it becomes a duty of a muslim to obey His orders. Allah wants us to be successful in this world and the hereafter, and He has given us ample warnings about the works and plans of Shaitaan in the Holy Quran. The one and only duty of Shaitaan, the cursed, is to take us away from doing deeds that please Allah, and invite and incite us to do deeds that cause the Wrath of Allah. And there is no doubt from the above aayah, that gambling is an abominable work of Shaitaan, and Allah has warned us to refrain and stay far away from it.

Besides, even in today’s supposed free world, gambling, in any religion and culture is considered a vice. No person, no religion and no culture, even in these un-Godly times, approves of gambling as a virtue. They are all unanimous in declaring gambling a vice and a bad habit. It is common knowledge that gambling has destroyed many families and many lives.

It is not that if one is able to control himself, he is allowed to gamble. The wisdom behind all the laws of Islam are made for the general good of an individual as well as the society at large, in order for them to attain true success. And the All Knowing All Wise Allah has declared gambling as an abominable work of Shaitaan and ordered us to stay far away from it. For a muslim who fears Allah and the Last Day, this one statement should be enough to keep him away from this grave sin.

And Allah Alone Knows Best, and He is the Only Source of Strength.

May Allah guide you and us all to the Straight Path of Islam.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan