This excerpt is taken from Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi's book Halal and Haram in Islam, translated into Urdu by Muhammad Tahir Naqqash.
Gambling is a companion of alcohol
Where Islam has permitted various types of games, it has declared every game involving gambling as forbidden, meaning the game should not involve profit or loss.
Just as it is not permissible to make gambling a means of earning wealth, it is also not permissible to use it as a means of play, entertainment, or passing time.
Behind this prohibition lie profound wisdom and great objectives:
➊ Islam wants Muslims to follow the divine laws in the process of earning wealth and to achieve results through proper means.
Gambling, one form of which is the lottery, teaches a person to rely on luck, chance, and empty hopes. It does not teach reliance on effort, struggle, and the means that Allah has created and commanded to be used.
➋ Islam considers a person's wealth to be sacred, and the only legitimate ways to acquire it are through lawful trade or by someone willingly giving it as a gift or charity. Acquiring wealth through gambling is equivalent to consuming wealth unlawfully.
➌ Gambling creates hatred and enmity among players, even if they verbally express consent, because their relationship is always between the winner and the loser. When the loser remains silent, his silence contains anger and resentment because he has suffered a loss.
➍ The gambler, after losing, becomes willing to gamble again, hoping to recover the loss this time. Similarly, the winner is encouraged by the pleasure of winning to gamble again and gain more profit.
This cycle continues, and both gamblers cannot separate from each other. This is the secret of the persistent trouble of gamblers.
➎ Therefore, this passion is not only dangerous for the individual but also poses a severe threat to society. It is a passion that inevitably wastes time and effort. In short, this game completely paralyzes gamblers. They benefit from the blessings of life but do not fulfill its responsibilities. Gamblers always neglect the duties and obligations imposed by their Lord and become indifferent to their own selves, families, and national responsibilities. Such people may not hesitate to sell their religion, honor, and homeland for their own benefit.
The Quran has combined alcohol and gambling in one command, revealing great realism because both are equally harmful to the individual, family, nation, and morals. The condition of a gambler is very similar to that of a drinker; it is rare to find one without the other. Both are inseparable. The Quran’s statement that this is the work of Satan is very enlightening. The Quran mentions it along with divination and arrows, calling it filth and commanding avoidance:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالْأَنصَابُ وَالْأَزْلَامُ رِجْسٌ مِّنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ 90 إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَن يُوقِعَ بَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَاءَ فِي الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ وَيَصُدَّكُمْ عَن ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَعَنِ الصَّلَاةِ ۖ فَهَلْ أَنتُم مُّنتَهُونَ
“O you who have believed! Intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful. Satan only wants to cause between you animosity and hatred through intoxicants and gambling and to avert you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. So will you
Lottery is a type of gambling
What is commonly known as a lottery is also a form of gambling. Considering it trivial and legitimizing it in the name of welfare organizations and humanitarian purposes is absolutely incorrect. Those who consider the lottery permissible for such purposes are like someone who collects donations and alms through forbidden dancing and forbidden art for the mentioned purposes. We would say to such people:
إن الله طيب لا يقبل إلا طيبا
“Allah is pure and only accepts what is pure.”
Reference: Muslim, Book of Zakat, Chapter on Accepting Charity from Lawful Earnings, Hadith: 1015
Those who adopt such methods perhaps think that the motives of goodness and sympathy have ended in society and the reality of virtue no longer exists. Therefore, for the welfare of humanity, no other way remains except to use gambling and forbidden types of games as a means. But Islam does not prescribe such methods for society; rather, in human affairs, it chooses the aspect of good and for a pure purpose, it also chooses a pure means. That means is the invitation to virtue, encouragement of humanity, and the cause of faith in Allah and the Hereafter.
Cinema Viewing
Many Muslims ask and inquire about the Islamic stance on cinema, theater, etc. Is going to the cinema permissible or forbidden for a Muslim? There is no doubt that cinema and similar places are very important means of entertainment, and it is also true that, like other means, they can be used for both good and evil. Cinema in itself is not something forbidden. Rather, its ruling depends on the purpose for which it is used. Therefore, in our opinion, cinema is halal and permissible, and in fact, it can be preferred and desirable if the following conditions are fulfilled.
Firstly: The purposes being displayed should be free from indecency and immorality. Also, these purposes should not be contrary to the beliefs, Shariah, and etiquettes of Islam. If the stories presented incite base desires, encourage sin, promote crime, spread wrong ideas, or propagate false beliefs, then such films will be forbidden, and it will not be permissible for any Muslim to watch or encourage them.
همارے ملك ميں سينما گهروں ميں جو فلميں دكهائي جاتي هيں ان ميں شاذ هي كوئي فلم ايسي هوگي، جو ان غلط اور باطل مقاصد سے پاك هو. عام طور سے فلموں ميں عورتوں كي بهر پور نمائش كي جاتي هے اور وه رقص و سرود كے ساته اهم پارٹ ادا كرتي هيں. سينما كے عشقيه حياء سوز اور مخرب اخلاق گانوں نے تو پوري فضا كو متعفن كر كے ركه ديا هے. حقيقت يه هے كه آج معاشره كے اخلاقي بگاڑ كا بهت بڑا ذريعه يه انسانيت سوز فلميں اور پكچرز هيں اس ليے ان كے جواز كا سوال پيدا هي نهيں هوتا البته كوئي فلم اگر واقعي ان قباحتوں سے پاك هو اور كوئي مفيد مقصد ركهتي هو تو اس كو نا جائز قرار دينے كي بهي كوئي وجه نهيں. مؤلف كي يه رائے ايك حد تك درست هے كه سينما فى نفسه ايك جائز چيز هے بشر طيكه اس كو خير كے مقصد كے ليے استعمال كيا جائے. (مترجم)
سينما گهر كا مقصد اور قيام هي غلط اور باطل كي اشاعت هے، يه جس قدر بهي فلميں نشر كرتے هيں وه شرعي لحاظ سے درست نهيں، اختلاط مرد و زن، عشقيه گانے اور قصے حيا سوز مناظر وغيره كے هوتے هوئے درستگي كي كوئي صورت موجود نهيں هے. (ابو الحسن مبشر احمد رباني)
Secondly: One should not neglect any religious or worldly responsibility. Especially, the five daily prayers, which are obligatory on every Muslim, should be observed. It is absolutely not permissible to miss any duty, such as the Maghrib prayer, for the sake of watching a picture. Allah Almighty says:
فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْمُصَلِّينَ 4 الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ
“Woe to those who pray but are heedless of their prayer.”
Reference: (Surah Al-Ma'un: 4-5)
In its interpretation, it is said that being heedless of prayer means delaying its performance until its time passes. The Quran also states one reason for the prohibition of alcohol and gambling is that both prevent the remembrance of Allah and prayer.
Thirdly: Those who go to the cinema should avoid mixing with unrelated women so that they can protect themselves from temptation and doubts, especially in situations where they are watching a picture in the darkness. The following hadith has already been mentioned:
لأن يطعن فى رأس أحدكم بمخيط من حديد خير له من أن يمس امرأة لا تحل له
“It is better for one of you to have a hot iron rod driven into his head than to touch a woman who is unlawful for him.”
Reference: Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman: 374/4, 5455; Tabarani in Al-Kabir: 20/211-212
