Whether it’s traditional or online gambling, it’s always had a notorious reputation around the world. Considering that it’s one of the most booming industries worldwide, there are still quite a few countries and states where it’s illegal.
On the other hand, we’ve got the religious aspect, which condemns any form of gambling and those who partake in it. Canadian Muslims will see betting, wagering, or lotteries as haram (forbidden by Allah). Our casino expert Daniel Bennet reviews most online establishments in Canada, such as casinocanada.com, and notes the laws that Islam has drawn up against gambling.
The Restriction of Gambling
According to Islamic rites, gambling is the 14th greatest sin and not a straightforward and trivial activity that we must participate in. In the Quran, there’s a scripture that denounces gamblers and alcoholics in the same sentence. It acknowledges that both actions are addictive social disorders that can alienate and ruin lives. The holy book explains why gambling is prohibited in Islamic finance, and it’s referred to as Maesir and Azlam. These terms refer to the action of participating in a game of chance.
Schools in Canada questioned Muslim scholars about these laws, and the kids agreed that it’s okay to compete in healthy sports events and challenges. However, the kids emphasized that those activities should not contain any lottery, betting, or winning by chance. The most recent discussion has been about whether raffles fall under that category, but scholars describe it as more of a promotional benefit.
Fundamental teaching in Islam is that a person should earn their money through hard work and knowledge. It suggests that you shouldn’t rely on chance or luck to get things you haven’t earned.
Islamic Teachings About Gambling
The Quran describes drinking alcohol and gambling as two of the greatest sins.
“They ask you about intoxicants and games of chances. Say: in both of them there is a great sin…”(Surah al-Baqarah 2:219)
According to Islamic quotes on gambling, it refers to all games of chance. The Arabic meaning of this is Maesir, which is derived from the word meaning “ease.” Considering that gamblers don’t work hard for their possible winnings and may get it easily, it’s called Maesir.
Azlam refers to using dice when playing a game of chance and was famous before Islam’s onset. It describes a game where bettors would gamble with arrows to allocate camel meat to the players. Ten players would use the dice to determine which three wouldn’t receive the meat.
As Azlam refers to a type of wager, Maesir is a collective term for all betting types, and both are considered haram. Along with wine and idol worship, gambling is considered Satan’s work, and no person should engage with it. Muslims describe that when one embroils with it, one loses the chance for salvation and success in the afterlife.
The Belief That Wine and Gambling Causes Greed and Hostility
There’s no doubt that a person loses their inhibitions when under the influence of alcohol and may behave in a most unseemly manner. This means he’ll undoubtedly create enemies and may act violently towards family members.
On the other hand, gambling causes rifts between the participants, and enmity is the dominating player in that relationship. The one who loses his money is destined to hate the winner and may develop ideas of vengeance.
A person who wins money while betting will find ways to spend their unlawfully received funds by overindulging. The Quran specifies that gaining profit from haram activities opens up a new path for further corruption. The holy book recognizes gamblers by their greed and obsession to wager more for more significant profits. Additionally, the loser will continue to regain what they’ve lost.
Gambling in Forms of Modern Business Practice
Looking at modern practices of banks and other financial institutions, we can see the gambling impressions in various financial products and services. For example, traditional insurance isn’t legitimate due to qimar (gambling) and riba (interest). Similarly, public and private sector businesses often organize their resources based on draws and lotteries, which are forms of gambling.
Currently, different esteemed authorities offer multiple definitions of legal insurance. According to Ivamy (1986), insurance is “a contract whereby one person, the insurer, undertakes, in return for the agreed consideration, called the premium, to pay to another person, called the assured, a sum of money, or its equivalent, on the happening of a specified event.”
Birds (1993) describes insurance as a contract where one person accepts the risk for events outside their control, occurring in the future, and is responsible for paying back funds or equivalent for an uncertain event.
Rejda and Mcnamara (2017) define insurance as “the pooling of fortuitous losses by transfer of such risks to insurers who agree to indemnify insured for such losses to provide other pecuniary (relating to money) benefits on their occurrence or to render services connected with the risks.” This explanation identifies that the risk of losses is what’s being transferred.
Although it’s okay to identify the similarities between insurance and gambling, such as uncertainty, there are very noticeable differences between them. One fundamental contrast is that one is used for winning and one for loss.
For gambling in Islamic finance not to be present, Muslim banks and financial enterprises should avoid gambling-based products, services, and transactions. They should be able to offer customers Shariah-compliant alternatives.
In Conclusion
Since the advent of the Islamic religion, there are teachings that men need to earn their own money. They should obtain this money through their laborious hard work and effort. Gaining money by luck or chance shouldn’t be permissible, and these schemes only benefit a select few. The ones involved in Islamic dream gambling, those who can’t afford or sustain it, often spend incredible amounts of money on this habit that ruins relationships and lives.
