The Game of Chance, Qimār

Allah (swt) says in Sūrat al-Māʾidah:

— that intoxicants, gambling, sacrificing to stones and dividing by arrows are an uncleanliness from the work of Shayṭān, to be shunned so that a person may be successful. Al-maysir, the word used, means a game of chance: any and every form of it is ḥarām. Two people agree to bet — if one wins, he takes ten dollars, and if he loses, he pays nothing but the other pays him — and that ten dollars is ḥarām, whatever glorified name it is given. Even two children playing marbles for twenty cents a hit are engaged in qimār; without hard work behind it, any such quick earning is qimār — a game of chance, as it is called; tazlato^**, is absolutely ḥarām too, no different. No betting, of any kind: ḥarām, ḥarām, ḥarām.

Among the Arabs of the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), one particular game was very well known and used specifically for gambling — nard, something between what would now be called backgammon and chess, in which the players threw dice and moved their pieces accordingly. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: whoever plays nard has disobeyed Allah and His Messenger. This is a person who has disobeyed Allah and His Messenger, when the entire purpose of life is to obey Them; for a person to disobey Allah and His Messenger is to play with fire.