Playing dice games online

12-12-2017 | IslamWeb

Question:

Is it permissible to play dice games online? I know that it is impermissible in real life, but what if the game is played through an app?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

It is impermissible to play dice-rolling games even in electronic form. Forbidding it is not restricted to playing it with the hand in real life; Abu Moosa Al-Ashʻari, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, “Whoever plays with dice has disobeyed Allah and His Messenger.” [Maalik and others]

Abu Al-Waleed Al-Baaji when explaining the rationale behind the prohibition, wrote:

"Because this belongs to things that mostly distract from the remembrance of Allah. Also, it is a form of gambling and indulgence in an activity of no real benefit as far as worldly and religious affairs are concerned. Allah, the Exalted, made the prohibition of alcohol contingent on this meaning, as He says (what means): {Satan only wants to cause between you animosity and hatred through intoxicants and gambling and to avert you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. So will you not desist?} [Quran 5:91]" [Al-Muntaqa Sharh Al-Muwatta']

Al-Baaji also said, "This is because playing with dice leads to gambling or swearing to a lie by the name of Allah and neglecting the obligation of prayer. The argument that only excessively playing with the dice leads to committing such prohibitions is refutable, because playing with it a little often leads to playing it a lot; therefore, this door must be blocked."

ʻAwn Al-Maʻbood reads about the rationale behind the prohibition in this regard, "... because it relies on the results of throwing the dice, pebbles, and the like. This makes it similar to Azlaam (divination arrows)."

Allah knows best.