Friday Nasiha

While permitting a variety of games and sports, Islam prohibits any game which involves betting, that is, which has an element of gambling in it. It is not lawful for the Muslim to seek relaxation and recreation in gambling, nor is it lawful for him to acquire money through it.

There are sound and noble objectives behind this strict prohibition of gambling:

1. The Islamic teachings urge the Muslim to follow Allah's directives for earning a living, to use natural laws and direct means for the attainment of his objectives, and to employ such causes to produce the desired effects. Gambling, which includes raffling or the lottery, on the other hand, makes a person dependent on chance, 'luck' and empty wishes, taking him away from honest labour, serious work and productive effort. The person who depends on gambling loses respect for the laws of causation which Allah has established and commanded people to use.

2. In Islam, an individual's property is sacred; it may not be taken from him except through lawful exchange or unless he gives it freely as a gift or in charity. Accordingly, taking it from him by gambling is unlawful.

3. It is therefore not surprising that gamblers develop hatred and enmity towards one another, although they may claim that losing does not trouble them. There is always a winner and a loser. The loser may seem composed but behind his composure is frustration, anger, and regret: frustration due to disappointment, anger at the loss of money, and regret for not having played a winning game.

4. Gambling has its own compulsion. The loser plays again in hope of winning the next game in order to regain his earlier losses, while the winner plays again to enjoy the pleasure of winning, impelled by greed for more. Naturally, luck changes hands, the loser becomes the winner and the winner the loser, and the joy of winning changes into the bitterness of loss. Thus the gamblers may persist at playing the game, unable to bring themselves to leave it; this is the secret of the addiction to gambling.

5. Because of this addiction, gambling is a danger to the society as well as to the individual. This habit consumes gamblers' time and energy, making them non-productive idlers and parasites on society, who take but do not give, who consume but do not produce. Moreover, due to his absorption with gambling, the gambler neglects his obligations towards his Creator and his duties towards his community. It often happens that a gambling addict sells his honour, religion, and country for the sake of the gaming table, since his devotion to this table dulls his sense of values and kills all other devotions.

How correct the Quran is in mentioning drinking and gambling together in its verses, since their harmful effects on the individual, the family, and society are very similar. What is more like alcoholism than addiction to gambling? This is why one usually is not found without the other. Again, how correct the Quran is when it teaches us that both of these, drinking and gambling, are inspired by Satan, that they are akin to idolatry and divining by arrows, and that they are filthy and abominable habits which must be shunned.

Espionage

Personal privacy of the individual is an integral part of his dignity. The private dwelling is therefore made immune against intrusion of all kind. Strangers who wish to enter private homes are required to greet the inhabitants and familiarise themselves with courtesy and respect (al-Nur, 24:27). Permission to enter a private home is thus to be solicited thrice, and if it is still not granted, there should be no further repetition and the stranger must leave. This is clearly stated in a hadith which directed the believers that "asking for permission is (allowed up to) three times. If it is not granted to you, you must return." [Muslim, Mukhtasar Sahih Muslim, hadith 1421.]

The hadith here elaborates on the two requirements of familiarisation (isti’nas) and greeting (taslim). The order of priority between these two requirements has also been specified in another hadith which simply declared that "The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: greeting precedes the speech". [Mubarakfuri, 'Aradat al-Ahwadhi Sharh Jami' al-Tirmidhi, IX, 170.]

Espionage (tajassus) is forbidden by the clear text of the Quran, and so is indulgence in suspicion and sneaky activities that are degrading and offensive to the personal dignity of the individual (al-Hujurat, 49:12). The second Caliph, 'Umar Ibn al-Khattab has clarified the government position when he said that the government acts on what is evident; one who exhibits good character should not be suspected of anything but good; for the inner secrets of people are only known to God Most High. [Al-Tabari, Tarikh, V, 26.]

Espionage originates in suspicion, which is also to be avoided as far as possible. However, both are seen as a threat to personal dignity and a violation of the individual's right to privacy. The prohibition of espionage also includes opening of personal letters and confidential correspondence. This is, in fact, the subject of a hadith to the effect that "one who looks into the letter of his brother without his permission is like looking into the fire of Hell." [Al-Suyuti, al-Jami’ as-Saghir, p. 165; Ibn Majah, al-Adab al-Shar`iyya, II, 166] The prohibition of espionage is thus addressed to everyone and to all concerned, including, that is, the law enforcement agencies, the individuals and the government leaders.

Source:
"The Dignity of Man - the Islamic Perspective" – by Mohammad Hashim Kamali