Day in, day out; we are being invited to a lot of evils. The evils are modified, decorated and presented in different ways so that they can become acceptable to us. Sometimes, the packaging becomes so good that we actually fall into the evil. In this edition, we take a look at one evil that is currently everywhere. Though it has always been a part of our world, but it being presented as a new thing. It is the evil of gambling.
Gambling can be defined as the practice of risking money or possessions on the result of something uncertain such as card games or horse race. Gambling comes in different forms and names. Things like card games die (pI. dice), lotto, pool (otherwise known as fixed odds). and lotteries of all kinds are modem examples of gambling. However, whatever form or name they come with, they are still gambling and therefore forbidden (Haram). Allaah says about gambling, "0 ye who believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks) and gambling ... are an abomination of Shaytans (Satan) handiwork. So avoid (strictly all) that (abomination) in other that you may be successful" (Q5: 90) One of the things that people try to achieve with gambling is instant success.
They want to get rich quickly, without serious, constant effort and hard work. However, with the verse quoted above, it shows clearly that there is no real success in it; rather, staying away from it is where success lies! This is obvious from the saying of Allaah that success lies in avoiding it! It can be seen from the part verse where Allaah says "So avoid it in other that you may be successful."
Another thing that is clear is that most of the people who engage in gambling do not really make the money that they intended. This is because for the person who is gambling and eventually wins once, he is delighted by that success. In the true sense of it, the person has only been able has only been able to recover just a small portion of what he has spent in the many unsuccessful trials! Allaah also says about gambling: "Shaitan (Satan) wants only to excite enmity between you with intoxicants (alcoholic drinks) and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allaah and from As-Salat (the prayers). So, will you not then abstain?" (Q5:91) Allaah informs us in this verse about the dire consequences of gambling. First, and a very dangerous consequence is that gambling brings about enmity. This is something we see with our own eyes that people maim and kill themselves because they lost money in the process of gambling. If all these things happen because of gambling, why do we want to engage in it? The second and a more dangerous consequence is that gambling makes us forget the remembrance of Allaah. When you gamble, you are so engaged in it that the proper times of salaat are lost.
Worse still, it may even lead to abandonment of prayers. It is also an act of disobedience and the more one continues to disobey Allaah, the more distant one is from Allaah and His mercies! As Muslim teenagers, our attitude should be that we should work hard to earn what is permissible (halaal) and depend on Allaah to put His blessings on our effort.
Also, we should stay away from all actions that will distant us from Allaah and His mercies. From the foregoing, it is clear that gambling is not permissible for the Muslims, therefore we should stay away from it. Even, if you make money from it, the money is haram and the blessing of Allaah will not be with whatever money is spent on. So, what possible good can there be in gambling? May Allaah save us from this evil (Aameen)
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited