About gambling

[There is only one God]

Is playing chess at stakes gambling? I mean, it's not gambling if you know you're gonna win, according to my friends at least.

[Mujahid Saifullah]

I did research on this a few years ago. There is a lot of debate, as I'm sure you know. I came to the conclusion that chess is permissible, but not if there is any profiting from it (i.e. to play chess as a social activity is okay, to play for gain is not). Also, like music, if you miss salat because of it, then it becomes an issue. Also, there are Islamic chess sets which you can buy; these chess sets feature chess pieces that do not encourage idolatry (no horses, etc). There is also issue with playing in public.

There is hadith that The Final Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said playing chess is like covering one's hand in the blood of swine.

To clarify, there are reliable sources which determine that chess is always forbidden. But there is also reasoning as to why it is forbidden. Therefore, if you have no problems with, for example, listening to music, then playing chess (as a social activity) can be deemed permissible.

To conclude, there are great scholars who will say chess is always forbidden. If you practice your ijtihad on this matter like I did, you may come to the same conclusion that I did. Allah knows best.

Peace, brother.

[zulfiqarchucknorris]

I did research on this a few years ago. There is a lot of debate, as I'm sure you know. I came to the conclusion that chess is permissible, but not if there is any profiting from it (i.e. to play chess as a social activity is okay, to play for gain is not). Also, like music, if you miss salat because of it, then it becomes an issue. Also, there are Islamic chess sets which you can buy; these chess sets feature chess pieces that do not encourage idolatry (no horses, etc). There is also issue with playing in public.

There is hadith that The Final Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said playing chess is like covering one's hand in the blood of swine.

To clarify, there are reliable sources which determine that chess is always forbidden. But there is also reasoning as to why it is forbidden. Therefore, if you have no problems with, for example, listening to music, then playing chess (as a social activity) can be deemed permissible.

To conclude, there are great scholars who will say chess is always forbidden. If you practice your ijtihad on this matter like I did, you may come to the same conclusion that I did. Allah knows best.

Peace, brother.

The hadith in which you mention says that "nardishir" is like " covering one's hand in the blood of swine.", Nardshir could be translated as "gambling dice" or "backgammon", but never chess (shartranj)
Also, chess was not known in arabia during the time of the prophet.

[Mujahid Saifullah]

Yes. Backgammon. The point I was trying to make is there are scholars who claim chess is forbidden because they consider it a game of chance that corrupts the moral values of Islam. My own personal opinion, formed by studying the topic, is that a friendly game of chess is okay. We could go deeper into the discussion, but mine is a rational opinion. Not that I am an authority on such things. I love chess, also. I have no one to play it with though.

[QuranSearchCom]

I did research on this a few years ago. There is a lot of debate, as I'm sure you know. I came to the conclusion that chess is permissible, but not if there is any profiting from it (i.e. to play chess as a social activity is okay, to play for gain is not).

Muslims beware of the fakes out there who call themselves scholars.  Not everyone who grows some hair on his face is a scholar.  Allahamdulillah (all Praise and Thanks are due to Allah Almighty), we don't have debates over the pillars of Islam.  There are some fundamental issues that we have with heretics from Shias, but the overwhelming majority of all Muslims agree on all fundamentals and pillars of Islam.

Here is what you need to be aware of though.  When you get into modern-day questions, like playing chess, my advise to you is to take your verdicts from the popular Scholars, and not the phony ones who want to object to get popular.

As to the quote "there is a lot of debate" on whether chess is permissible or not, I never heard of any debate myself.  Chess is clearly 100% permissible for the following reasons:

1-  It is not gambling.
2-  It is not a game of chance.
3-  It is 100% a game of using your mind and testing your intelligence.

Like I said, I've never heard this being debated anywhere on TV, or among the renowned Scholars.  I certainly do believe you dear brother, but I am advising everyone to watch out from those "scholars" (notice the double quotes) who object to ONLY GAIN RECOGNITION, or belong to some brain-dead group that no one cares about.

Chess is very popular among Muslims, and like I said, I never heard of any debate about chess among Scholars.  One might hear it from unpopular ones, but the renowned ones never even brought it up.

As to playing against someone for money, any game of this kind is forbidden in Islam!  This is, however, completely different from enrolling in competitions and winning prizes.  The latter is 100% permissible.  But the former is forbidden, because it is using personal money, and putting that money on the line to compete with another individual.

I hope this helps, insha'Allah.

Take care,
Osama Abdallah

[Mujahid Saifullah]

I agree with your opinion on the issue. I am a chess player.

I've researched the issue, obtained information from reliable sources, and have come to the conclusion that chess is permissible, and even professional chess tournament is okay (which you just affirmed).

Perhaps I was being too diplomatic and not clearly stating. But I didn't want to be arrogant.

But, you have never heard that chess is forbidden? This is a common criticism of Islam. If you research it, you will find there are logical reasons as to why it would be forbidden, but as I said, I've concluded that it is not. Also, chess predates Islam. There is a claim that chess is an Islamic invention, but it existed before Islam (obviously I mean the precursor to chess).

It's probably worth me mentioning that I do consider the opinions of Shi'a when I conclude on matters. But I am discerning. I don't accept incorrect information, but I do listen to it. It is good to be open to all views, so then one can make up one's own mind.

Here is a random article I just found quickly: http://www.inter-islam.org/Prohibitions/Chess.html

I'm not asserting that this is a reliable source, of course. Simply to show you that there is a question regarding chess.

[zulfiqarchucknorris]

we had a similar discussion before
http://www.answering-christianity.com/blog/index.php/topic,675.0.html
peace