Is gambling allowed in Islam?
The sections of this article are:
1- Is gambling allowed in Islam?
2- Muslims should build a personal friendship and relationship with Allah Almighty.
3- Conclusion.
Let us look at the following Noble Verses from the Noble Quran:
"They ask thee concerning wine and gambling. Say: "In them is great sin, and some profit, for men; but the sin is greater than the profit." They ask thee how much they are to spend; Say: "What is beyond your needs." Thus doth God Make clear to you His Signs: In order that ye may consider- (The Noble Quran, 2:219)"
"O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows, are an abomination,- of Satan's handwork: eschew such (abomination), that ye may prosper. Satan's plan is (but) to excite enmity and hatred between you, with intoxicants and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of God, and from prayer: will ye not then abstain? (The Noble Quran, 5:90-91)"
As we clearly see from the above Noble Verses, Allah Almighty considered gambling as the work of Satan. Satan is very tempting. Many times we humans can not resist his temptations from doing evil things in life, such as illegal sex, alcohol, bribery, mistreatment of other people, etc....
Allah Almighty commanded us to stay away from gambling in Noble Verse 5:90; "Eschew such(abomination), That y may prosper." If any Muslim has any respect for Allah Almighty, then he/she should obey His Holy Commands so that he/she may prosper.
Some people claim that they gamble just for fun and don't spend a lot of money. I believe that such people are doing a great sin, because they are not avoiding gambling, but instead they are using it for entertainment. This may eventually drag them to become addicted to gambling and lose so much money on it, especially since they are gaining a "great sin" from it anyway. My advise to such people is to seek forgiveness from Allah Almighty and to not go back to the casinos and gambling again, or else they may not "prosper" and end up losing much of their money.
Now some people argue that they go to Las Vegas for instance like once every two years, and spend a couple of hundred of dollars on gambling for entertainment and then go home without really wasting a great deal of money on it, which then to them it makes it not really sinful in Islam. So in other words, they spend few hundred of dollars (say 600 for the sake of argument) every two years or every once in a great while on gambling.
My response to them is that although Allah Almighty said that there is some profit for gambling in Noble Verse 2:219, but it's sin is greater. So, even if this small amount of money spent every two years is not really that harmful to their budget, but they are still gaining a "great sin" according to the same Noble Verse just for practicing it.
Today Muslims should set the example for all of Mankind. I believe non-Muslims expect a lot of morals from Muslims. That is why they attach Islam to every Good and Evil thing that is done from Muslims, because they think that we live our lives 100% by the laws of Islam.
So, when Muslims go frequently to casinos, then they are not really helping themselves to allow Allah Almighty to help them "prosper", and they are not giving the good impression about Islam.
Muslims should build a personal friendship and relationship with Allah Almighty:
We have to understand that Islam is not all about fearing Allah Almighty. Yes of course we have to fear Him, but Islam is also about respecting Allah Almighty and building that personal friendship and relationship with Him. If you respect Allah Almighty and respect His likes and dislikes in life, then He will become your personal friend, and He will always be there for you to make you feel better through His Holy Spirit, and to inspire you to make the right things and decisions:
"Who can be better in religion than one who submits his whole self to God, does good, and follows the way of Abraham the true in Faith? For God did take Abraham for a friend. (The Noble Quran, 4:125)"
"(O Muslims) Your (real) friends are Allah, His Messenger [Muhammad], and the (Fellowship Of) Believers, those who establish regular prayers and regular charity, and they bow down humbly (in worship). (The Noble Quran, 5:55)"
How can a person be a gambler and Allah Almighty's friend at the same time? It's impossible. So until we change what's inside of us and make ourselves better people in everything we do to please Allah Almighty with our righteous work, Allah Almighty will never help us, because He said:
"Because God will never change the grace which He hath bestowed on a people until they change what is in their (own) souls: and verily God is He Who heareth and knoweth (all things). (The Noble Quran, 8:53)"
Conclusion:
Gambling is a bad thing and Satan's work, because it causes the person to gain a "great sin" and to not "prosper". Allah Almighty commanded the Muslims to stay away from it. If a Muslim wishes to build a personal friendship and relationship with Allah Almighty, then he/she must thrive to do righteousness and to always be the best example to both Muslims and non-Muslims.
Allah, Islam, Quran, Muhammad questions and answers.
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