Playing games with tools of gambling e.g. cards (2)

We are now going to look at the verses of the Qur`an used by scholars to discuss this issue.


Verse 1:
“They ask you about intoxicants and games of chance (maysar). Say: In both of them there is a great sin and means of profit/benefit for men, and their sin is greater than their profit.” (2:219)

The verse above (2:219) points towards the impermissibility of gambling for money or something else, but does not actually mean the impermissibility of the action itself for the following reasons:

1. The first thing that enters your mind when you consider the “profit/benefit” of gambling, is the monetary or material benefit, like it is well known that the “profit/benefit” of drinking wine is the intoxication…etc. even though the benefits are more general than that.

[Note: this idea of “what the first thing to enter one’s mind” is one of the ways of discerning what the intended meaning is]

2. The apparent meaning of gambling here is that which has monetary and material benefit.

3. The root of the word “maysar” is y-s-r, and what is meant by this term is a monetary benefit.



Verse 2:

“The Shaitan only desires to cause enmity and hatred to spring in your midst by means of intoxicants and games of chance (maysar)…” (5:91)


This verse indicates that the reason for the impermissibility here is the hatred and enmity that Shaytan creates, and this does not happen other than if there is money in between. That is because money or profit is what causes hatred, jealousy and spending time and leisure time does not necessarily cause that. All of these negative consequences come from playing for money like Syed Khurasani says in his Jaami’ al-Mudaarik fi sharh al-mukhtasir al-nafi’.



Basically the argument used, is clear - that Ayatullah Saanei believes that the words used, and the intention of the verse is clearly towards monetary benefit. A similar argument is used for the narrations, which will be the topic of the next blog.

[Note the level of depth in these arguments, and how such an argument is sufficient in scholarly circles]