Chess in Islam

[Imran]

With regard to islamic ideas wasn't chess present from the jahilyyah? Because there is a hadeeth i believe in muslim(check-might be something else) that talks about chess-and it wasn't in a good light.

One of the things society questions is what is islams' contributiion to society?
The fact that ibn Sina was one of the best although he is believed to have had a philosophical dodginess(i don't want to discuss-might be controversial, based on what ive heard). The ABBASID period is worth investigating with lots of astronomers etc-i dunno just a suggestion

[koolish]

Yes im pretty sure chess is NOT the way to go,
The prophet SAW said: He who plays Backgammon has disobeyed Allah Ta’ala and His (Rasool) .” and chess is kinda like backgammon

[Imran]

is chess allowed for increasing brain power etc? I don't know the exact ruling on it-I used to play before. I heard during jahilyya they used to gamble with chess

[koolish]

If it is played without gambling then there is a difference of opinion in its prohibition...some say its permissable, others says its makrooh while others say its completely haram...shaytan loves to create hatred among us, and to direct peoples attention from Salaat and Allah Taa’las remembrance...and how exactly does chess increase brain power?, i used to play it all the time and super good at it
and im as dumb as a potato!HAHAHA

[Imran]

If it is played without gambling then there is a difference of opinion in its prohibition...some say its permissable, others says its makrooh while others say its completely haram...shaytan loves to create hatred among us, and to direct peoples attention from Salaat and Allah Taa’las remembrance...and how exactly does chess increase brain power?, i used to play it all the time and super good at it
and im as dumb as a potato!HAHAHA
No it does-strategy is vital for good chess players(as in really decent ones). If chess is banned it's banned-it's not for anyone to question the messenger SAW

[firdaus]

Please keep discussions relevant to the thread topics. That goes for all threads. Otherwise, feel free to create new threads, as long as discussion is focused on that particular topic. In other words, please stop derailing threads. :)

[Khanji]

and chess is kinda like backgammon

Nothing like backgammon in my opinion.

[koolish]

Nothing like backgammon in my opinion.

they are both time wasters

[Khanji]

they are both time wasters

That's true.

[Hajar]

they are both time wasters

Not even! they're intellectually stimulating...what if you suddenly found yourself in the middle of a battlefield...what strategies would you use? Thats when you will say, I wish I had practiced on a board.. :p What are the chances of that happening?

[Hajar]

In his well-known book, The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam, the prominent Muslim scholar, Sheik Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, states:

"Chess is a very popular game, and the opinion of jurists concerning it varies. Some scholars consider it halal (permissible), others consider it makruh (reprehensible), and still others consider it haram (unlawful).

Those who consider it haram cite some hadiths in support of their view, but researchers have proved that chess did not appear until after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Thus all such hadiths must have been fabricated.

The Companions of the Prophet (may Allah be pleased with them all) themselves held different views about playing chess. Ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said that it is worse than backgammon and `Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) regarded it as gambling (perhaps meaning when it is played for money), while some others merely expressed disapproval of it.

However, some Companions and some of the second generation of scholars allowed it. Among those were Ibn `Abbas, Abu Hurayrah, Ibn Sirin, Hisham bin `Umrah, and Sa`id Ibn Al-Musayyib. We agree with those great jurists, since the original principle is the permissibility of acts and no text is to be found prohibiting it.
Moreover, in addition to being a game and a recreation, chess is also a mental exercise which requires thought and planning. In this respect, it is the opposite of backgammon, for while backgammon is a game of chance and therefore comparable to divining with arrows, chess is a game of skill and strategy, which may be compared to archery.

However, playing chess is permissible only if the following conditions are met:

1- One should not get so absorbed in it that he delays his prayer; chess is well-known to be a stealer of time.

2- There should be no gambling involved.

3- The players should not utter obscenities or vulgarities.

If any of these conditions are not met it should be considered as haram."


source: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar/FatwaE/FatwaE&cid=1119503543132

[koolish]

Not even! they're intellectually stimulating...what if you suddenly found yourself in the middle of a battlefield...what strategies would you use? Thats when you will say, I wish I had practiced on a board.. :p What are the chances of that happening?

:eek:wat strategies would u use??...a boardgame is WAYY different to a battlefield;)...the quran says this" 'O you who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows are an abomination of Satan's handiwork"..and allah knows wats best for us:D:D

[Hajar]

:eek:wat strategies would u use??...a boardgame is WAYY different to a battlefield;)...the quran says this" 'O you who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, (dedication of) stones, and (divination by) arrows are an abomination of Satan's handiwork"..and allah knows wats best for us:D:D

Dude, chess isnt gambling...maybe you didnt read the article i quoted.

[Imran]

Not even! they're intellectually stimulating...what if you suddenly found yourself in the middle of a battlefield...what strategies would you use? Thats when you will say, I wish I had practiced on a board.. :p What are the chances of that happening?

I agree with Hajar-chess in that sense was valuable to other cultures as far as i've heard

[koolish]

hey i never said it was haram...i believe its makruh...and it doesnt matter if its gambling or not

[Miriam]

Interesting...

personally i've never really played either games to any great extent...

what about dice? Like games that involve it... I read this hadith long ago (parapharasing) that whoever plays with dice its as if they dipped their fingers in the blood of swine...maybe the hadith had a particular context around it...hmm...worth looking up

[firdaus]

If there was a reasoning behind its prohibition, and this reason was because of wasting time resulting in taking our attention away from Allah, then a lot of everyday actions would fall under this same scrutiny also, including surfing the web.

We need to be careful when we're drawing conclusions of actions being haraam (or even halal), without further understanding the usool behind such actions, or at the very least, understanding the valid differences of opinion.

I little bit of research, got me this: http://www.zaytuna.org/seasonsjournal/seasons5/3-15_Chess%20in%20Light.pdf

From the sounds of things just from here, chess being a mentally stimulating exercise or not at all seems pretty subjective.

[koolish]

Interesting...

personally i've never really played either games to any great extent...

what about dice? Like games that involve it... I read this hadith long ago (parapharasing) that whoever plays with dice its as if they dipped their fingers in the blood of swine...maybe the hadith had a particular context around it...hmm...worth looking up

its more like Whosoever plays with backgammon is as though he dipped his hands in the flesh and blood of a swine

[Hajar]

ugh...this is getting to my head now. Inshallah im gonna read that article of hamza yusuf some time soon..pretty long eh

[Rafat]

If you are playing chess just for pleasure (because it is mentally stimulating, you like a challenge, etc) I cannot see how it could possibly be haram. However, if the purpose is to gamble through playing chess, then without a doubt it is haram.

Games that lead to one committing a sin are undoubtedly haram. Even if the game is recitation of the Quran from memory, if done for the sole purpose of gambling, Na'uzobellah, it is haram.

If a particular game is commonly played for a particular haram purpose (e.g. playing Poker for gambling), then it is questionable to play even if played for a halal purpose. Personally, I would rather not play it.

In general, there are acts that are unquestionably haram and there are those that are best avoided so that one is not persuaded to commit an act which is haram.

May Allah grants us all the wisdom to distinguish halal from haram and the will power to choose our actions so that they pleases Him.

[Imran]

hey i never said it was haram...i believe its makruh...and it doesnt matter if its gambling or not

Yeah no-one here is saying one or the other i think because there is a difference in opinion? Best to stay away from the grey areas in islam so I'll stop chess-it does make one dumber not in the sense of strategy but the fact that they could have spent that time studying and doing well in an exam or something. I guess i have to stop being a potato. There have been very few muslim grandmasters-the only one i know of was this lebanese or palestinian man who was raised in the US

[koolish]

Yeah no-one here is saying one or the other i think because there is a difference in opinion? Best to stay away from the grey areas in islam so I'll stop chess-it does make one dumber not in the sense of strategy but the fact that they could have spent that time studying and doing well in an exam or something. I guess i have to stop being a potato. There have been very few muslim grandmasters-the only one i know of was this lebanese or palestinian man who was raised in the US

YES YES DAT TOTALLY it the grey areas:)...wow u really know alot about chess...WOAH:eek:...grandmasters and US...WOAHH:eek:...COSMIC@_@...u r one HUUUUUUGE potato...prolly the biggest potato EVER:p...HAHAHHAHHAHAA:p:p

[Imran]

YES YES DAT TOTALLY it the grey areas:)...wow u really know alot about chess...WOAH:eek:...grandmasters and US...WOAHH:eek:...COSMIC@_@...u r one HUUUUUUGE potato...prolly the biggest potato EVER:p...HAHAHHAHHAHAA:p:p

Nah it just sounds more hectic when u say "grandmaster", i don't even know the guys name-it's in my little brother's ches book lol that's where i got it from. There was actually an egyptian guy at our school who we used to call spud

[Imran]

one more to a hundred

[Imran]

Lol there's my century-100

[Imran]

Now 101 lol-i could overtake the leader in a day lol

[Khanji]

Spammer ^ :)

[Imran]

Lol! Hey I was wondering on the ruling of saying good luck etc cos sometimes people say to me Good luck and i'm like i'll need it-but we all believe everything is decreeed by allah so yeah not sure about this issue-is there any learned person who can help or anyone have access to a sheikh who can answer this?