BENEFIT: Ruling on Betting

Question: What is the ruling regarding what some people do in the form of betting, which they claim is permissible? And if someone says that betting is prohibited, they respond by saying, “You only say that because you fear losing.” Also, what types of betting has Allāh permitted? We ask for a detailed explanation. May Allāh reward you with goodness. Shaykh Ṣāliḥ Al-Fawzān (may Allāh preserve him): Betting (Al-Murāhanah) with money is what is known as prize-based competition (1). It is not permissible except in the three matters specifically designated by the Shari'ah, based on the statement of the Prophet ﷺ: “There is no prize except in archery, camel racing, or horse racing.” These three are permitted to involve monetary rewards in competition because they are tools of jihād. They serve as training for striving in the cause of Allāh, the Mighty and Majestic: horse riding, camel riding, and archery are all from the means of jihād. Therefore, taking a reward for winning in these matters is taking it with right and justification (2). As for anything outside of these three, it is not permissible to take a monetary reward, because the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ restricted permissibility to these three only. Taking money in competitions other than these constitutes consuming wealth unjustly and without right, and thus it falls under maysir (gambling). Maysir is also a form of betting, and Allāh has prohibited it, pairing it with intoxicants in His statement: “O you who believe, indeed intoxicants, gambling, stone altars, and divining arrows are filth from the work of Shayṭān, so avoid it that you may be successful. Shayṭān only wants to cause between you enmity and hatred through intoxicants and gambling and to turn you away from the remembrance of Allāh and from prayer. So will you not desist?” Thus, maysir refers to betting in which wealth is risked and taken without right. -------------------- (1) Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn (may Allāh have mercy on him) said: “A competition for a prize is not valid—whether the prize is an item, money, or a benefit—except in these three cases.” [Ash-Sharḥ Al-Mumtiʿ (10/98)] (2) The scholars of the Permanent Committee for Fatwa (15/179) said: “...because these are means of jihad in the cause of Allāh. Included with these are competitions in knowledge-based matters that are part of Islamic rulings, because seeking knowledge is also a form of jihad in the cause of Allāh.”