Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri — by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
❖ Question
A person swore an oath that he would play chess. What is the ruling?
❖ Answer
Playing chess is prohibited; it is a form of gambling. Whoever swears an oath to play chess must break his oath and give the expiation for the broken oath.
❀ Narration of Sayyidunā Buraydah al-Aslamī رضي الله عنه
The Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
من لعب بالنردشير، فكأنما صبغ يده في لحم خنزير ودمه
“Whoever plays chess is as though he dipped his hand into the flesh and blood of a swine.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2260)
❀ Statement of ʿAllāmah Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr رحمه الله (463 AH)
“There is consensus that playing chess is gambling, and gambling is not permissible.”
(Al-Tamhīd, 13/182; Al-Istidhkār, 8/462)
