Gambling (Maysar) and Risk

(Gharar)
Quran condemns gambling

Satan's plan is (but) to excite enmity and hatred

between you with intoxicants and gambling and hinder
you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer
The Sunnah speaks not only of gambling but also of
Risk (Gharar)

In Sunnah, Gharar refers to certain transactions

characterized by risk or uncertainty at their inception
Ahadith on Gharar
The messenger of God forbade the “sale of the pebble” and
the sale of gharar
(Muslim)

“Do not buy fish in the sea, for it is gharar”

(Bukhari)
The Prophet forbade the sale of the unborn calf, sale of the
contents of the udder, sale of a slave when he is a runaway,
and [sale of the ] ‘stroke of the diver’.
(i.e. sale in advance of a diver’s yield, whatever it may be)

(Ibn Maja, with a weak chain of transmitters)

“Whoever buys foodstuff, let him not sell it until he has

possession of them”
(Bukhari)
‘He who purchases food shall not sell it until he weighs it”
(Muslim)

The Prophet forbade the sale of grapes until they become

black and the sale of grain until it is strong

(Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi)

All the above cases involve items
•Which may or may not exist
•Or whose characteristics are uncertain

Gharar is the sale of probable items whose existence or characteristics

are not certain

The risky nature makes the trade similar to gambling

It is in the best interest of the parties to be very specific about

• What is being sold
• At what price
Arranging the transactions prohibited by Hadith according to
their level of risk

1. The pure speculation

Some transactions seem intentional gambling:

Sale of wholly unknown values. e.g.

• Stroke of the diver

• Whatever the stone lands upon

2. The uncertain outcome

Where the object being sold is not only of uncertain value,

but may not be realized at all.
e.g.
• Sale of fish in the sea
• Sale of runaway slave

Presumably, sale of goods not in one’s possession fall in

this category
3. The unknowable future benefit

Goods which are precisely known and defined,

But whose future benefits to the buyer are unknown
e.g. Unborn calf

4. Inexactitude

e.g. Sale of goods before weighing

Poses the least element of gambling

 Interpreting the Ahadith’s applicability on commercial
transactions

The reason underlying these prohibitions is not Risk-avoidance per se

Since Islam allows and even encourages commercial risk

In these Ahadith, risks arise either because of :

•The parties’ lack of knowledge about the object of sale (Jahalah)
•The object of sale does not exist
•The object evades the parties’ control

The above three characteristics are used to identify transactions infected

with Gharar
Scholars are of two views

A) Those who feel that uncertainty of any type in a

transaction should be avoided so that both parties are
assured of a fair commercial transaction. Hence:

i) A valid sale contract exhibits two features:

a) Knowledge; i.e. parties’ full knowledge of
the object of sale
b) Existence; a concrete sale object

Absence of these features introduces Gharar in the

transaction.
 B) A scholar inspired by the Quranic text may read
the gharar Ahadith as intended only to suppress the
gambling instinct.

Those who feel that the true objective is to discourage

speculation

The vast majority of scholars adopt position A.

Whenever the risks of non-existence or ignorance enter
into a contract from its inception, the gharar rules
threaten to invalidate the contract; regardless of the
degree of risk actually involved.
Bay-al-Gharar refers to sales in which Gharar is a
major component

This type of sale is unanimously forbidden

On the other hand

Minor Gharar does not render a sale contract
defective
According to scholars

Criterion of invalidity of a contract because of Gharar

Or its validity despite Gharar

Is based on the following criteria

If necessity dictates Gharar which cannot be avoided without

incurring excessive cost

OR

If Gharar is trivial

The sale is rendered valid

Four (4) necessary conditions regarding Gharar

3. It must be major
4. It should be Aqd-e-Muawada
5. Gharar must affect the principal component of the contract
6. The need to be met by the contract containing Gharar cannot be met
otherwise