With the Hadith
Gambling
We greet you all, dear listeners everywhere, in a new episode of your program "With the Hadith," and we begin with the best greeting: peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.
Narrated Abu Hurairah: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Whoever enters a horse between two horses, meaning he is not sure that it will win, it is not gambling. And whoever enters a horse between two horses, and it is certain that it will win, it is gambling." Narrated by Abu Dawood.
The author of Awn al-Ma'boud said: {(It is gambling): with a kasra on the qaf, meaning wagering. ... And in Sharh al-Sunnah: Then, in racing, if the money is from the side of the Imam or from the side of one of the people, and it is stipulated for the winner of the two horsemen a known amount of money, then it is permissible, and if he wins, he deserves it. And if it is from the side of the two horsemen, and one of them says to his companion, "If you beat me, you will have such and such from me, and if I beat you, I will have nothing from you," then it is also permissible. So if he wins, he deserves the stipulated amount. And if the money is from the side of each of them, such that he says to his companion, "If I beat you, you will have such and such from me, and if you beat me, you will have such and such from me," then this is not permissible except with an analyzer who enters between them. If the analyzer wins, he takes both wagers, and if he is beaten, then he owes nothing. And he is called an analyzer because he makes it permissible for the winner to take the money. So with the analyzer, the contract goes out of being gambling, because gambling is when a man is hesitant between gain and loss. So if he enters between them, this meaning is not found in it. ...}
Dear listeners, the Sharia has absolutely forbidden gambling, and considered the money taken because of it as not owned. God Almighty said: (O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to other than God], 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 remembrance of God and from prayer. So will you not desist?) He affirmed the prohibition of intoxicants and gambling in several ways of affirmation, including the introduction of the sentence with (Indeed), and among them is that he associated them with the worship of idols, and among them is that he made them abominations, as He said: (So avoid the abomination of idols), and among them is that he made them from the work of Satan, and nothing but pure evil comes from Satan, and among them is that he commanded to avoid them, and among them is that he made avoidance of them a success. And if avoidance is success, then committing them is disappointment and loss. And among them is that He mentioned what results from them of evil, which is the occurrence of enmity and hatred from the people of intoxicants and gambling, and what they lead to of averting from the remembrance of God, and from observing the times of prayer, and His saying: (So will you not desist?) is the most eloquent of what is forbidden, as if it was said: There has been recited to you what is in them of types of deterrents and preventatives, so will you desist with these deterrents and preventatives? And among gambling is lottery tickets, whatever their type and whatever the reason for which they were created. And among gambling is betting on horse races. And gambling money is forbidden, and it is not permissible to own it.
Dear listeners, until we meet you with another prophetic hadith, we leave you in God's care, and peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.