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:

Dear Brother,

We are a retailer of Online lottery under the brand name of Playwin .  We are simply getting commission on the sales. Here I would like to verify according to islamic rule is it legal or illegal.  We know any thing that relates with luck are disallow in islam but according to company notification 20% of the amount generated though lottery sales will be spent in primary education for the less fortunate child and since its a social cause it attract us most. Kindly show us the right path

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully,

(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:

Online Lottery

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.

The lottery, whether offline or online, is a manifestation of gambling, which is strictly prohibited in Islam. To make an earning from any product, which is fundamentally ‘haraam’ is absolutely illegal; and the earning from such transactions will be considered haraam earnings, and the person who earns haraam earnings will have a severe accounting in the Court of Allah Subhanah on an Inevitable Day.

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said in an authentic narration : "Surely, Allah is Pure, and He does not accept anything but what is pure."

Haraam earnings do not become halaal, just because a portion of the haraam earnings are spent in good causes! It would just be like if a thief stole some property, and spend a part of it in good causes to justify his deeds! The fundemental act would be haraam in its essence, and spending a part of his evil wealth in good causes, would not make the act permissible or acceptable.

The believers, who sincerely fear Allah and the Day of Accounting, must abstain from disobeying the clear commands of their Lord and Creator, for the accounting of that Day will indeed be very severe for the workers of iniquity.

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