Question:
What is the Islamic ruling on games and sports? How is playing games on the computer viewed?
Answer:
Islam is the most comprehensive religion, containing excellent and best instructions for every aspect of this temporary life, through which not only the Hereafter can be perfected but also the affairs of this world are taken care of. However, ignoring Islamic teachings, some people have devoted their entire lives to games and entertainment. People expend all their energy and strength to win awards in sports, while on the other hand, some individuals have completely abandoned even legitimate and proper games in the name of fear, reverence, asceticism, and struggle.
Whereas the lives of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, were filled with fear, reliance, reverence, piety, asceticism, and other acts of worship, their pure lives also prominently featured joy, happiness, cheerfulness, and heartfelt delight. We should make full use of health and leisure in this life, because the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
نعمتان مغبون فيهما كثير من الناس الصحة والفراغ
“Health and leisure are two blessings about which many people are deceived.”
Therefore, one should benefit from free time, not waste it on activities that yield nothing but loss and harm. The successful and prosperous person is the one who saves the moments of his life from being wasted and uses his time seriously and honestly. Regarding worldly life, Allah Almighty says:
﴿وَمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا لَعِبٌ وَلَهْوٌ ۖ وَلَلدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لِّلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ ۗ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ ﴾
“And the worldly life is nothing but play and amusement; but indeed, the home of the Hereafter is best for those who fear Allah. Will you not then understand?”
At another place, He says:
﴿وَمَا هَٰذِهِ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا لَهْوٌ وَلَعِبٌ ۚ وَإِنَّ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ لَهِيَ الْحَيَوَانُ ۚ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ﴾
“And this worldly life is only amusement and diversion; but the home of the Hereafter is best for those who fear Allah. Would that they knew!”
In short, there are many verses in the Holy Quran on this theme, which upon reflection clearly reveal the truth that there is a vast difference between a purposeful life and a life spent in amusement and play. A believer avoids frivolous, vain, and useless activities, as stated:
﴿وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنِ اللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ ﴾
“And they who turn away from ill speech.”
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ described abandoning frivolous and meaningless activities as “the beauty of Islam.” He said:
من حسن إسلام المرء تركه ما لا يعنيه
“Part of the goodness of a person’s Islam is to leave what does not concern him.”
Imam Raghib Asfahani wrote in Mufradat al-Quran: “اللهو ما يشغل الإنسان عما يعنيه” “Lahw (amusement) is everything that distracts a person from important and noteworthy matters.”
Regarding “la’b” (play), he writes: “لعب فلان إذا كان فعله غير قاصد به مقصدا صحيحا” “La’b is everything done without a proper purpose.”
About “laghw” (vain talk), Imam Qurtubi states in his Tafsir
:
وهو كل ساقط من قول أو فعل يدخل فيه الغناء واللهو وغير ذلك مما قاربه
“Lagwh refers to every worthless and futile word and action, including singing, music, and amusement, all of which are useless activities.”
However, the prohibition of such amusement, play, and vain activities does not mean that Islam forbids recreation altogether. Islam permits purposeful travel, recreation, and games so that laziness and idleness do not develop in a person. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ sought refuge from laziness and idleness. He prayed to Allah:
اللهم إني أعوذ بك من العجز والكسل والجبن والهرم والبخل
“O Allah! I seek refuge in You from helplessness, laziness, cowardice, and old age.”
From this, it is understood that laziness, idleness, cowardice, and similar vices are disliked in Islamic teachings. Within appropriate limits, Shariah permits games. However, one should not become so engrossed in games that one neglects the remembrance of Allah and worship.
Archery, shooting, horseback riding, swimming, and mutual recreation between husband and wife are favored games in Islam. Khalid bin Zaid, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “I was an archer, and ‘Uqbah bin ‘Amir Al-Juhani, may Allah be pleased with him, was also an archer. He would pass by me and say: ‘O Khalid! Come with us; we will do archery.’ Once I delayed, and he said: ‘Come, I will tell you the hadith I heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.’ The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Indeed, Allah will admit three people to Paradise because of one arrow: the one who makes it seeking reward from Allah, the one who shoots it, and the one who retrieves it. Practice archery and horsemanship; I prefer your archery more than horsemanship.”
Then the Prophet ﷺ said:
وكل شيء يلهو به الرجل باطل إلا رميه الرجل بقوسه وتأديبه فرسه وملاعبته امرأته فإنهن من الحق
“Every game of a person is futile except three: archery, horse riding, and playing with one’s wife, for these three are from the truth.”
It is narrated from ‘Ata bin Abi Rabah that he saw both Jabir bin Abdullah and Jabir bin Umair Al-Ansari, may Allah be pleased with them, practicing archery. When one got bored and sat down, the other said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:
كل شيء ليس من ذكر الله لهو ولعب إلا أن يكون أربعة ملاعبة الرجل امرأته وتأديب الرجل فرسه ومشي الرجل بين الغرضين وتعليم الرجل السباحة
Everything that is not related to the remembrance of Allah is amusement and play, except for four things: a man playing with his wife, grooming his horse, a man walking between two marks (i.e., for archery), and learning to swim.
From the above authentic hadiths, it is clear that Islamic teachings include permissible recreations, among which the four most important are archery, shooting, horseback riding, swimming, and mutual recreation between husband and wife. These four games have great significance in the Quran and Sunnah because they benefit the true religion and relate to human health and fitness.
Archery and horseback riding are mentioned in Surah Al-Anfal ﴿وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُم مَّا اسْتَطَعْتُم﴾, swimming and playing with one’s wife are mentioned in the above hadiths, and running is also very beneficial for physical health. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ’s running is mentioned in hadiths. Sayyida Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
أنها كانت مع النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم فى سفر قالت فسابقته فسبقته على رجلي فلما حملت اللحم سابقته فسبقني فقال هذه بتلك السبقة
I was traveling with the Prophet ﷺ, and I raced with him and overtook him. When I became tired, I raced with him again, and he overtook me. Then the Prophet ﷺ said: “This is in return for that race.”
Salmah bin Al-Akwa’, may Allah be pleased with him, is well known in hadith books for running alongside camels.
Similarly, listening to and reciting good poetry for recreation is also permissible and proper, as detailed in the previous question. It is also established by authentic hadiths that girls reciting good poetry with drumbeats at weddings is permissible. These are just a few games mentioned irregularly in authentic hadiths. Regarding other games, consider the following points:
① Games that cause neglect of duties and rights are impermissible because such games are vain and frivolous, which are not allowed. Imam Bukhari dedicated a chapter in Sahih Bukhari
titled: “كل لهو باطل إذا شغله عن طاعة” Every amusement is futile when it causes neglect of obedience to Allah.
Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, explains in his commentary: “This means that if a person becomes so engrossed in anything that it causes neglect in fulfilling obligations, whether the thing is permissible or not, such as becoming busy in voluntary prayers, recitation, remembrance, or pondering the meanings of the Quran until the time for obligatory prayer passes knowingly, then this is included in this rule. If this is the case for voluntary worship, which is desirable and intended by Shariah, then what about lesser things? That is, permissible things that cause neglect of rights and obligations are in this state, so the rest will be impermissible by stronger reason.”
② Games that have no purpose, i.e., meaningless and frivolous games played merely to pass time, are also not permissible because wasting time is not right. As mentioned earlier with reference to Sahih Bukhari and others, many people are deceived and at loss regarding health and leisure. The characteristic of a believer is to avoid vain and frivolous activities. Allah says:
﴿وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنِ اللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ﴾
“And the believers avoid vain talk.”
Computer games, kite flying, string pulling, cards, Ludo, etc., are such games that only waste time and have no physical or religious or jihad-related benefit, so they should be avoided.
There are games whose prohibition is mentioned in authentic hadiths, such as dead pigeon flying and animal fighting. It is narrated from Buraidah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:
من لعب بالنردشير فكأنما صبغ يده فى لحم خنزير ودمه
“Whoever plays dice, it is as if he dipped his hand in the flesh and blood of a pig.”
It is narrated from Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
من لعب بالنرد فقد عصى الله ورسوله
“Whoever plays dice has disobeyed Allah and His Messenger.”
It is narrated from Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet ﷺ saw a man chasing pigeons and said:
شيطان يتبع شيطانة
“One devil is chasing another devil.”
It is narrated from Abdullah bin Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both:
نهى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن التحريش بين البهائم
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ forbade making animals fight each other.”
Its chain includes narrators who are mudallis (obscuring the chain) and Abu Yahya Qumat is a weak narrator, and Imam Sufyan Thawri classified it as mursal (missing the companion). It has other chains as well.
Therefore, avoid playing dice, pigeon flying, partridge fighting, cockfighting, and other animal fights. However, raising pigeons, chickens, etc., and caring for them is permissible, as in Sahih Bukhari
it is mentioned about Abu Umair, may Allah be pleased with him, that when his red-beaked bird died, the Prophet ﷺ said: يا أبا عمير ما فعل النغير “O Abu Umair! What has the nughair done?”
Games that involve any forbidden or disobedient acts are also impermissible, such as games where the ‘awrah (parts of the body that must be covered) is exposed, gambling, music, mixing of men and women, etc., because guarding the ‘awrah is among Islamic obligations, gambling is explicitly prohibited in the Quran, and there are many authentic hadiths about the prohibition of music. For details, see the author’s book “TV: The Cancer of Society.” Similarly, collecting pictures, making idols or drawings, men and women holding shows or theaters together or separately are forbidden and imitating disbelievers, polytheists, Jews, and Christians, so avoiding them is necessary.
Imam Khattabi wrote about the hadith of ‘Uqbah bin ‘Amir, may Allah be pleased with him: “From this hadith, it is understood that other types of games are prohibited. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ permitted these games only because each of them, if examined, assists the true religion or is a means to it. Moreover, these games include those through which a person exercises physically so that the body becomes strong and powerful and gains the ability to confront the enemy, such as weapon practice, i.e., archery and horse riding. As for other types of games played by worthless people, such as chess, dice, pigeon flying, and other purposeless games, all are prohibited because they neither help in any good deed nor provide joy and relaxation for fulfilling obligations.”
Also remember that most of the games played in the present era are based on numerous faults, corruptions, and harms. For example, playing them causes neglect of prayers, missing Friday prayers, wasting obligatory fasts of Ramadan, as one-day cricket matches are often scheduled during Ramadan. These games prominently feature mixing of men and women. Women travel to different countries specifically to watch these matches. Moreover, these games cause loss of time and wealth; if the money spent on these matches were spent on religious matters, our society could be significantly improved.
In these games, players are presented as national and national heroes, and the new generation idolizes these players instead of their Mujahid commanders, the Companions, the great Tabi‘in, and the Mujtahid Imams, which distracts the nation from the important duty of Jihad. Most of these games do not observe modesty. Not only men but women also participate wearing shorts and shirts, whereas Islam requires women to observe full hijab. Because of these games, women have been degraded from their true status and brought into the public arena. The nation has mistaken games for Jihad instead of engaging in the real battlefield of Jihad. Last year, when the war in Kashmir was intense, people watched the India-Pakistan match as if it were a battle between disbelief and Islam, installing TVs in hotels, squares, and parks to watch the match. People were even seen making vows and supplications for these matches. Thus, the Muslim Ummah is being brought to the brink of destruction.
In short, if one reflects calmly, these games neither benefit religion nor relate to human health. They should play games that do not distract from the remembrance of Allah, benefit religion, and maintain our health and fitness, such as swimming, horseback riding, archery, and running.
