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:

Assala o Alaikum Brother,

May Allah bless you with wisdom and guidance.

1. Is playing lotto haram? Can you support with Qur`an and Sunnah?

2. Recently a pakistani cab driver was in news for his generosity after winning over 32 million dollars in USA. He became a better person after winning this lotto. Many muslim friends are of the view that you are not harming anybody nor yourself. If it is haram because it is a game of chance then all the games like football, cricket etc. are also somewhat a game of chance, will they be haram based on the above mentioned principle?

Jazakulallah khairun.

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Answer:

Is lotto lawful

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever 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.

Q-1: Is playing lotto haram? Can you support with Qur`an and Sunnah?

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verses 90-91:

O you who have believed! ‘Khamr’ (all types of intoxicants), ‘Maisir’ (all forms of gambling), idols, and divining arrows are all abominable works of Shaitaan; therefore, stay (far) away from these so that you may attain success. Indeed, Shaitaan seeks to sow enmity and hatred among you by means of ‘khamr’ (intoxicants) and ‘maisir’ (gambling), and to prevent you from the Remembrance of Allah and from Salaah. Will you not, then, abstain from these things?

The scholars of Islam are absolutely unanimous in their opinion that lotto is a clear manifestation of ‘maisir’ or gambling, and absolutely all forms and manifestations of gambling are prohibited in Islam. If one reads the above Command of the Lord Most High, one will realize that the All-Wise Lord has not used the term ‘Haraam’ (prohibited) for intoxicants and gambling, but the term used in the Quran to signify prohibition is ‘fajtanebu’ meaning stay far far away from it; which in the opinion of the good scholars implies the absolute hatred and detest of the Lord of these two abominable works of the Shaytaan!

The flesh of swine, blood, carrion, etc. are declared ‘haraam’ by the Lord in His Divine Revelations, but if a believer happens to be near or pass by these ‘haraam’ products, there is no harm and no sin. But for intoxicants and gambling, the Lord Most High has Commanded the believers to stay ‘far-far away from these’, which clearly signifies and implies that not only is it absolutely forbidden for the believers to indulge in these two abominations, it is a grave sin in the Sight of Allah to even approach or be near them!

Q-2: Recently a pakistani cab driver was in news for his generosity after winning over 32 million dollars in USA. He became a better person after winning this lotto. Many muslim friends are of the view that you are not harming anybody nor yourself. If it is haram because it is a game of chance then all the games like football, cricket etc. are also somewhat a game of chance, will they be haram based on the above mentioned principle?

First and foremost, it is not as if cricket or football are acts of worship or highly recommended activities in Islam; but if one occasionally plays them as a sport, or amusement, or with the intention to improve one’s physical health…there is no harm and there is enough room in the approved way of life for occasional lawful entertainment and amusement.

Secondly, if one earns or wins something from a source which is clearly declared as unlawful in Islam, regardless of how generously one spends or distributes this unlawfully earned wealth, he will have no reward for his generosity in the Just Court of Allah Subhanah; for Allah Subhanah is indeed Good and Pure and He only accepts that which is good and pure. But without an iota of a doubt, the person will have to give a full account of how exactly he earned his wealth in the Majestic and Supreme Presence of the Lord Most High on an Inevitable and Tumultuous Day of Judgment!

Fiqh-us-Sunnah Fiqh 3.101a

Sub: Giving What is Unlawful as Sadaqah

Allah does not accept Sadaqah if it is from what is unlawful: The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "O people! Allah is Good and accepts only good, and He has instructed the believers through the Messengers. Allah, the Mighty and the Majestic, says: 'O Messengers! Consume what is good and work righteously. I am well-acquainted with what you do' [Surah 23 al-Mu'minum 51]." The Lord also Declares: 'O you who believe! Consume of the good that We have provided for you' [Surah 2 al-Baqarah 172]. Then [the Messenger of Allah (saws)] mentioned a man who had traveled for a long time, unkempt and covered in dust, he raised his hands to the heavens (and cried): 'O my Lord! O my Lord!' His food was unlawful, his drink was unlawful, his clothing was unlawful, and what he had provided to sustain himself with was also unlawful. How could his invocation be accepted?" (Related by Muslim).

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: "If one gives a date bought from honestly earned money (and Allah accepts only good), Allah accepts it in His Right Hand and enlarges [its rewards] for its owner until it becomes as big as a mountain!"

Related by al-Bukhari.

Thirdly, your statement: ‘He became a better person after winning this lotto. Many muslim friends are of the view that you are not harming anybody nor yourself.’

Beloved brother, apart from all the implications of earning wealth from ‘unlawful’ and ‘haraam’ means, the natural emotion of greed dictates that a person who earns such obnoxious amounts of unlawful wealth will spend the rest of his life trying to hit just one more ‘jackpot’! With absolute and utter disregard to what is lawful and unlawful in the Sight of Allah, this person will approach every manifestation and depot of gambling to double and re-double his wealth! Such a person may or not bring harm upon himself or his loved ones in the short and transient life of this world, but Allah is our witness, without an iota of a doubt he will definitely bring harm upon himself in the Hereafter!

The above is simply the case of one who has won the lotto or earned wealth from unlawful means; but one who desires or wishes to make his $1.00 into a million dollars through unlawful means like gambling will gamble a proportion of his hard-earned money on every lotto game, lottery tickets, casinos, etc. in the hope of one day striking a ‘jackpot’; money which would be better spent on the upkeep of his family. Such a person not only harms himself, but undoubtedly also harms his loved ones!

My dear and beloved brother, I could go on and on relating not only the Divine Guidance from the Quran and Sunnah which declares gambling unlawful, but also relate through logic that nothing good can be derived from anything which has been so specifically declared as absolutely unlawful and prohibited by Allah and His Messenger (saws). Regardless of how fair-seeming and attractive a proposition of what has been clearly declared as unlawful by Allah and His Messenger (saws) might seem to the untrained and unguided eye in the short-term, Allah is our witness brother, it will bring nothing but ruin and penury to those who indulge in it in the long-term!; and it is only for our protection that the Lord Most Merciful has Commanded the believers to ‘stay far far away’ from such abominations of the Shaytaan as intoxicants and gambling.

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

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

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan