Why chess discouraged.
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Assalam alaikum,
Your comments make interesting reading.
Although you quote extensively from the Hadith, you make
no reference to the Musshaf (the Holy Quran).
Your recent view on chess, warrants a response, in the
interest of the vast majority of Muslims who wish to be included in the nation
of common mankind.
If you say that chess is haram, then, the following
activities too will be considered in the same lines:-
BILLIARDS
SNOOKER
CARROM
BRIDGE
VIDEO GAMES
BOWLING
GO-KARTING
along with music, drama, painting,
art, telewatching, etc etc......... all that is considered not
contributing to physical growth, or the growth of mankind at large.
How are common Muslims expected to survive in this age and
era, if scholars like you establish such narrow parameters.
You make very specific quotes, but leave out the broader
meanings or messages of what our beloved religion is trying to convey - simply
- to be good human beings, treat HIS, the Almighty's creation with
justice, refrain from oppressing and fight oppression, pray to Him as
prescribed, perform the Haj and prescribe to charity.
All other abstinences are necessary, in accordance with
making the society and environment we live in, civil. Abstinences in the Holy
Quran are such reality checks for the Muslims, and should be considered just
that.
But anything more than what the Holy Quran says, is
subject to interpretations and should be applicable to contemporary lifestyles.
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
Why chess
discouraged
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verse 177:
177 It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces toward East or West;
but it is righteousness to believe in Allah, and the Last Day, and the Angels,
and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance out of love for
Him for your kin, for orphan,s for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who
ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer and practice
regular charity; to fulfill the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm
and patient in pain (or suffering) and adversity and throughout all periods of
panic. Such are the people of truth, the Allah-fearing.
My dear and respected brother in Islam, Allah is our
witness, we could not agree more with your statements: ‘……the broader meanings or messages of what our beloved
religion is trying to convey - simply - to be good human beings,
treat HIS, the Almighty's creation with justice, refrain from
oppressing and fight oppression, pray to Him as prescribed, perform the Haj and
prescribe to charity.
All other abstinences are necessary, in accordance with
making the society and environment we live in, civil.’
Your Question: How are common Muslims expected to survive in
this age and era, if scholars like you establish such narrow parameters?
Respected brother, the scales of rewards and punishments
in Islam are not horizontal where the rewards of every good and lawful deed is
equal or where the punishments of every evil and prohibited deeds is
identical…..but rather the plane is vertical where one good and lawful deed or
act (eg. Belief in ‘tawheed’, and prayer, and charity, etc.) is ranked much
much higher than another good or lawful deed (eg. Picking a harmful object from
the path, or eating and drinking with one’s right hand, or declaring the
‘salaams’, etc.)!
Similarly all evil and prohibited deeds are not equal in
the Sight and Scales of Allah Subhanah.
An evil like ‘shirk’ or ‘kufr’ or murder, or adultery, or oppression,
etc. is much much more deserving of the Full Wrath and Anger of the Lord Most
High than one who does a lesser evil like wasting one’s time, or amusing
oneself with contemporary games, or music, or films, etc.
You are absolutely right in your determination that our
deen and religion of truth is unimaginably vast and magnanimous in its
extent…..but the parameters which define the ‘boundaries’ of what is
permissible and what is prohibited in this beautiful religion is not drawn by
the scholars, but by Allah Subhanah and His Messenger (saws)!
If one comes to a scholar in religion and asks them about
belief, and ‘tawheed’, and the Hereafter, and the significance of prayers, or
charity, or Hajj, or the rights that are due to one’s Creator, or the rights
that are due to creation, etc….the scholar is duty bound to respond to the
queries on these all-important subjects in light of the guidance of the Quran
and the Sunnah.
But if one comes to a scholar and asks them about things
or deeds which are still part of religion, but way down in the scales of
importance….be it from the clipping of one’s nails, to the raising of one’s
hands in prayer, to the declaration of ‘Ameen’ after the recitation of Surah
Fatihah, or whether or not games like chess or backgammon are lawful or
prohibited, etc…..the scholar is still duty bound to respond to those specific
queries of the believer in light of the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah!
Your Statement: …..You make very specific quotes, but leave
out the broader meanings or messages of what our beloved religion is trying to
convey
Just imagine if a believer seeks guidance from a scholar
regarding one of the smaller issues in the deen like clipping nails, or raising
hands in prayer, or declaration of ‘Ameen’, etc….and the scholar instead of
addressing the specific issue asked by the brother conveys the ‘broader’
picture of the Message of Islam!
Thus brother, because we were asked regarding the ruling
of ‘wasting time’ or playing games like chess or backgammon, etc…our answer was
dedicated to respond to that specific question of the brother in light of the
guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah.
Allah is our witness brother, if and when we are asked about the
‘broader’ and more important Dictates of the deen, we will strive our absolute
best to address that specific question of the brother in light of the guidance
of the same Quran and the Sunnah!
All we can humbly say in our defense brother is that just
because a less significant matter of the deen was asked and addressed by us, it
would not be right to accuse us of ‘leaving’ the broader meanings or messages
of the deen!
Your Statement: But anything more than what the Holy Quran
says, is subject to interpretations and should be applicable to contemporary
lifestyles.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisa verse 79-80:
We have sent you (O Mohamed) as a Messenger to
mankind, and Allah’s witness suffices
for this. Whoever obeys the Messenger,
in fact obeys Allah, and whoever turns
away from him, he will be accountable for his deeds. Anyhow,
we have not sent you (O Mohamed) to be a guardian over them.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale
Imran verse 31-32:
O Prophet,
tell the people, “If you sincerely love Allah, follow me.
Then Allah will love you and forgive you your sins, for He is All Forgiving, All Merciful.” Also say to them, “Obey Allah and His Messenger.” And if,
in spite of this, they do not
accept your invitation, warn them that
Allah does not love those, who refuse to
obey Him and His Messenger.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah
Ahzab verse 21:
There is indeed the best example for you to
follow in the Messenger of Allah, for every such person looks forward to Allah
and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chatper 59 Surah
Hashr verse 7:
So take what the
Messenger (saws) assigns to you and deny yourselves that which he withholds
from you. And fear Allah; for Allah is strict in Punishment.
Beloved brother in Islam, The All-Knowing, All-Wise Lord
did not send any of His Books alone….but rather He, in His Absolute Wisdom and
Knowledge always appointed a Prophet amongst the people and revealed His Divine
Guidance upon Him so that His Messengers would not only convey the Message of
their Lord, but live and present a practical example of how the Message of the
Lord is to be implemented in their lives and society.
Thus if one reads the Glorious Quran with understanding
one will and can very well understand the basic concepts of faith like the
Absolute Oneness of Allah Subhanah, the concept of the Hereafter, the Paradise,
the Hell Fire, etc…..but to implement the Shariah or Laws of Islam upon their
social and individual lives, it is absolutely imperative that one look into,
learn and study and strive to implement the Sunnah or the practice of the
Messenger of Allah (saws) into their lives.
Thus if any amongst mankind states the Quran alone is
enough for him without the understanding and implementation of the Sunnah of
the Messenger of Allah (saws) into their lives, his knowledge as well as his
practice of Islam would be absolutely incomplete, to say the least.
To accept, obey, follow and implement the authentic and
established Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) is an integral and
inseparable part of being a muslim.
It is indeed unfortunate that
some people have gone to the two extremes when dealing with the ‘ahaadiths’ of
the Messenger of Allah (saws). One
extreme declares belief in each and every hadith of the Prophet (saws), without
confirming whether the hadith is authentic or not! The other extreme declares their complete
opposition and rejection of any and all ahaadiths, regardless of whether they
are authentic or not!
One is at liberty to study,
research, and argue with knowledge whether something which is being attributed
to the Messenger of Allah (saws) in the records of ‘hadith’ is indeed accurate
and from the Messenger of Allah (saws) or not…..but to take either of the two
extremes, or to declare that the Sunnah or Way or Method of the Last and Final
Messenger (saws) is inconsequential or inapplicable would be a gross
misjudgment, to say the least!
Whether or not the ‘hadiths’ recorded in the Sunnah
regarding the subjects of playing games like ‘nard’, or chess, or backgammon,
or amusing oneself with ‘music, drama, painting, art, telewatching, etc etc.’ are considered as authentic or not is another
question…….Just imagine for a moment that if one was blessed to live at the
time of the Messenger of Allah (saws), and the Messenger of Allah (saws)
himself did indeed specifically forbid these deeds or acts or invoked the curse
of Allah on those who did these acts…… Would it befit or behove a believer to
disobey a command of the Messenger of Allah (saws)? Would it be ‘guidance’ or ‘misguidance’ to
disobey the Messenger of Allah (saws)? Would it be ‘belief’ or ‘disbelief’ to disobey
the Messenger of Allah (saws)?
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah
Ahzaab verse 36:
It does not behove a believing man and a
believing woman that when Allah and His Messenger have given their decision in
a matter, they should exercise an option
in that matter of theirs. For whoever disobeys
Allah and His Messenger has indeed strayed into manifest error!
Your Statement: But anything more than what the Holy Quran
says, is subject to interpretations and should be applicable to contemporary
lifestyles.
Respected brother in Islam, if one finds the Quran and the
authentic and established Sunnah silent on a matter, there is indeed an option
and scope to interpret the ruling of the matter in light of the guidance of the
Quran and the Sunnah……but when Allah and His Messenger (saws) have given a
Decision regarding a matter, it would be manifest transgression and misguidance
at best, and utter and absolute ‘disbelief’ at worst, to disregard or disobey
that ‘Decision’ of Allah and His Messenger (saws)!
My dear and respected brother, we remind you as we remind
ourselves, the believers are commanded and guided to amend and align their
‘lifestyle’ to the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah, not to amend the
guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah to suit their ‘lifestyles’!
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah
Taubah verses 111-112:
111 Allah has purchased of the believers their ‘selfs’ and their
goods; for theirs (in return) is the Garden
(of
112 Those that turn (to Allah) in repentance: that serve Him and praise
Him; that wander in devotion to the Cause of Allah; that bow down and prostrate
themselves in prayer; that enjoin good and forbid evil; and observe the limits set by Allah; (these do
rejoice). So proclaim the glad tidings
to the believers.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah
Baqarah verses 208-209:
208 O ye who believe! Enter
into Islam whole-heartedly; and follow not the footsteps of the
Shaytaan; for he is to you an avowed enemy.
209 If ye backslide after the clear (Signs) have come to you, then know
that Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise!
If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and
commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),
one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any
other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be
assured of being led astray.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
