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:

Can you tel me about the lottery and gambling , i become a gamler and i put my self lot of Credit. now a day i do not know if i stop how can i give back the money which i borrow, and i am afraid the Day of Judgment. i do not know what to do.

(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:

Lottery and Gambling

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 none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Ref: Gambling

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.

Ref: Lottery

If one buys a ‘raffle’ or ‘lottery’ ticket with the intention to win a prize purely through the element of chance, without an iota of a doubt this would constitute ‘maysir’ or gambling, and abomination and a grave sin in the Sight of Shariah Law and of Allah Subhanah.

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

90      O ye who believe! Intoxicants, gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows are an abomination of the Shaytaan's handiwork: eschew such (abomination) that ye may prosper.

91      Shaytaan's plan is (but) to excite enmity and hatred between you with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer: will ye not then abstain?

Lottery and gambling is definitely some of the forbidden (haraam) things in the deen of truth, ie: Islam. One who indulges in these haraam activities will surely invite the wrath (azaab) of Allah swt..

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.

There is very little doubt that gambling eventually leads one to great debts and penury. These are some of the azaab one has to bear in this life but the azaab of the hereafter will be more severe and unbearable.

The only solution you have available to you is to make sincere taubah and ensure that you never repeat these evil practices again. Then immediately start keeping yourself in the state of wudhu at all times, perform the obligatory prayers in their prescribed times, read the Noble Quran in a language that you understand, fast during Ramadhan, pay the zakat, keep in the company of righteous Muslims at all times and do good righteous deeds always. InshaAllah soon you will notice the change and begin receiving the blessings of Islam.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 135-136:Allah likes such good people very much, who, if ever they commit a base deed or wrong their own soul by the commission of a sin, remember Allah instantly, and ask for forgiveness from Him for their shortcomings.  For who, but Allah, can forgive sins?   (And Allah loves those) who do not knowingly persist in the wrongs they did.   These will be rewarded with forgiveness from Allah, and with Gardens beneath which canals flow, and they will reside therein forever!  How excellent is the reward of those who do good deeds!

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

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

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