Is it haram to play chess or backgammon?

The ruling on playing chess depends directly on whether it is considered gambling or not. Scholars unanimously agree that any form of gambling is forbidden. This is because the Qur’an states:

«They ask you about wine and gambling. Say: In them is great sin and [some] benefit for people. But their sin is greater than their benefit.»

Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:219

In the Hanafi school, playing chess is considered makruh (disliked and sinful). The well-known jurist Imam Marghinani (may Allah have mercy on him) writes in his book "Al-Hidaya": "Playing chess, backgammon, fourteen (a game played by Jews), and any other such games are makruh. If money is wagered, it becomes gambling; if not, it is idle amusement. These games also distract from the remembrance of Allah and from Friday and congregational prayers. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

‘Anything that distracts you from the remembrance of Allah is gambling.’

Al-Hidaya, 6/515-516

However, according to Imam Abu Yusuf (may Allah have mercy on him), playing chess is mubah, meaning it is permissible (Sharh Fath al-Qadir, Ibn Humam, 8/498). There are several reasons for this.

• First, there is no explicit evidence prohibiting chess. As for backgammon, there are hadiths clearly forbidding it. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

‘Whoever plays backgammon is like one who has dipped his hand in the flesh and blood of a pig.’

Bukhari, Muslim

Another hadith states: ‘Whoever plays backgammon has disobeyed Allah and His Messenger.’

Ibn Majah

• Second, companions and successors such as Ibn Abbas, Abu Huraira, Ibn Sirin, Hisham ibn Urwah, Sa’id ibn al-Musayyab, and Sa’id ibn Jubayr (may Allah be pleased with them) considered chess to be halal.

• Third, playing chess improves memory and thinking skills. For chess to be permissible, Imam Abu Yusuf set the following conditions:

• it must not involve gambling;

• it must not waste time;

• it must not cause one to neglect obligatory acts of worship (Hashiyat Ibn Abidin, 6/394).

Hasan AMANKUL,

“Munara” newspaper, No. 23, 2020