Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three ele ...

( ar, ميسر, translit=maisîr, maysir, maisira or ''qimâr'') is absolutely forbidden ( ar, harām, script=Latn). ''Maisir'' is totally prohibited by Islamic law ('' shari'a'') on the grounds that "the agreement between participants is based on immoral inducement provided by entirely wishful hopes in the participants' minds that they will gain by mere chance, with no consideration for the possibility of loss".

Definitions

Both ''qimar'' and ''maisir'' refer to games of chance, but ''qimar'' is a kind (or

subset In mathematics, set ''A'' is a subset of a set ''B'' if all elements of ''A'' are also elements of ''B''; ''B'' is then a superset of ''A''. It is possible for ''A'' and ''B'' to be equal; if they are unequal, then ''A'' is a proper subset of ...

) of ''maisir''. Author Muhammad Ayub defines ''maisir'' as "wishing something valuable with ease and without paying an equivalent compensation for it or without working for it, or without undertaking any liability against it by way of a game of chance", Another source, Faleel Jamaldeen, defines it as "the acquisition of wealth by chance (not by effort)". Ayub defines ''qimar'' as "also mean ngreceipt of money, benefit or usufruct at the cost of others, having entitlement to that money or benefit by resorting to chance"; Jamaldeen as "any game of chance".

In scripture

It is stated in the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , ...

that games of chance, including ''maisir'', are a "grave sin" and "abominations of Satan's handiwork". It is also mentioned in ahadith.

References

{{Islam topics, state=collapsed Islamic criminal jurisprudence Islamic terminology Gambling and society Sin

Definitions

In scripture

See also

References