Chess In a Halal Setting
Should we refrain from accepting the view on the permissibility of chess?
Imam Khomeini ruled on the permissibility of chess on the grounds that the view of its prohibition depended on chess being regarded as a tool of gambling. He felt that it has come out of this classification and entered the realm of the permissible. This is confirmed by some hadiths which insist that "certainly chess is gambling" but they do not attach the meaning of gambling to chess in the absence of specific features of gambling. There must be a bet and winnings in gambling. If we are able to understand from the hadith that chess was forbidden, on the view that it was used as a gambling apparatus, then we must concur with the Imam's view on permissibility. If we cannot do this, we must reserve judgment on the position that it is halal or haram, since the issue calls for more research. But permissibility does not seem far from the truth.
And dominoes . . .?
In our scholarly research (ijtihad), playing with gambling equipment or whatever resembles it is not forbidden where there is no gambling involved. We do not agree with scholars who state that playing with gambling equipment is haram, even in the absence of betting, on the judgment that mere play is forbidden. My view is in favor of the permissibility of playing with gambling equipment and their similar modern inventions; and on this basis, play money and the like is not forbidden. In this view, I side with the ruling of a great Iranian scholar, the dear departed Ayatullah Sayyid Ahmad Khwansari.
What is the view on visiting places where there is gambling and the like?
Visiting these places may be considered under certain aspect-the person may be attracted to gambling while there; there may be other illicit activities, the honor of a believer may be sacrificed there or his reputation tarnished. In all these cases, the ruling is that it is forbidden.
Yes, if there is some need for him to visiting these places-such as to speak to a person, without this leading to any accusation or loss of honor and reputation-then there is no objection.
Fortune Telling and Reading The Future
Magazines circulate abundantly among the youth. Some focus on predicting the future-through the signs of the zodiac, palmistry, and teacup reading. There are two questions on this subject: What is the view of Islam on this; and what is the connection between predicting the future and the unseen through magic?
There is no basis whatsoever that these are a means to know the unseen future, since there is no relation between them and the actions of people or cosmic occurrences. It is possible that the issue of the zodiac and the planets stemmed from some ancient non-Islamic beliefs. In older times, some people felt that the stars had an erect on human affairs and the universe. This caused them to associate signs with certain planets in order to gain some idea of the future-whether in terms of personality traits, under this or that sign, or some such thing.
Horoscopes In Newspapers and Magazines
This custom has become so dominant in our society that many magazines and newspapers dedicate special pages for this pastime, where it is assumed that such-and-such a person under such-and-such a sign has specific traits and that a particular event may occur at some point in time. However, we do not find any Islamic basis for this. Rather we see traditions which forbid learning astrology to predict the fixture. Indeed, one of the Imams of the AN al-Bayt asked some people who dealt with this kind of information, "Do you predict?" They said: "Certainly." He said: "Burn your books."
As for teacup reading or summoning the spirits, those who indulge in these practices have no basis for associating them with any reality. We have no wish to deny categorically, nor do we possess any extensive study for their refutation. However, the experiences which the people speak about do not suggest any truth in this area. If we have doubts, we should deem them fantasies and hallucinations. If some of these predictions have some truth, the truth does not result from the means, but is coincidental-in exactly the same manner as the people predict several things at the beginning of every year: some things come to pass, others prove to be false. The people do not pay attention to those things that fail to happen but to those that take place.
In this respect, the hadith "The stargazers lied even if they told the truth" perhaps indicates this point-which is that the truth one finds is not a truth which stems from the rules attached to truth itself; they are coincidental.
There are things which these practices discover and they are true, ascertained then and there.
I assume that some people do not think that some of these things are general and evident for the persons concerned. There are people who have intuitive perception, realizing things from the personality of a person. Someone who indulges in this practice may also be experienced in reading indications and clues relating to this or that type of people, or whatever can be ascertained from single or married individuals. As such, the words may be delivered in a way that suggests to the listener some basis of truth in them.
We do not deny these things-as we have said since denial requires proof, but in what is before us on this matter we find nothing that could confirm what the practitioners claim.
Magic Is a State of Delusion
Do you believe that there is a relation between these practices and magic?
We do not believe that magic represents reality, for God (Exalted) in the Quran spoke negatively of magic: "What magic you have brought is deception, certainly God will negate it" (Yunus, 10:81). God tells us here that magic is a delusion and not reality. There is also the story of the two angels, Harut and Marut: "And they learnt from them magic by which they might separate a man from his wife" (al-Baqara, 2:102). But it is not necessary that this be magic. Even if it is, who said that Harut and Marut stayed until those who are known for ignorance and backwardness in many situations had learnt from them?
Entertainment And The Needed Alternatives
The enemies of Islam employ means for which the human soul craves-singing, music, intoxicants, mixing between the sexes and the corruption that goes with that. When, calling towards God, we take a decisive, negative view of these things, without suggesting any of a number of alternatives, social consciousness will not accept this. The question then is: Do you not believe that if this state of affairs continues, the self-destruction of character and the licentiousness will move apace?
We believe that Islam does not see any problem with harmlessly filling the spare time of our youth, creating a relaxed, happy mental state; or with opening their hearts toward the innocent Western amusements. We acknowledge that this area is wide in scope, and includes sports, swimming, symbolism, inspirational music, and whatever the jurists have ruled on as not being within the purview of immorality and sin. This means that we have not totally discarded music.
Regarding intoxicants, it is impossible to find in the youth environment an alternative to this, except certain types of fruit juices prepared in a way that attracts youths. Intoxicants do not possess special, intrinsic qualities that lure youths; youths are probably more attracted to the atmosphere that surrounds these products. Therefore, it is possible to recreate some of that atmosphere as an alternative to intoxicating drinks.
