Assalmulaikum brother and sisters.. I need help.. I am new here and I need guidance.....
I have been very poor and could not feed myself by paying bills constantly. I have seriously been in constant hardship that is it very hard for me to even save $50 a month. I am 23 years old, working full time by minimum wage. I am a refugee and I left everything and paid whatever the cost to escape from a harsh country. Both my parents died from bombing and I had to escape for my life. I am only lucky I made to the U.S because I lied that I am white. (Because of my blue colored eyes, and red hair.)
Recently, I have gone to Vegas with my friend because he did not want to go alone. I was not planning on drinking or playing any gambling games but just to see why America likes Vegas so much. My friend force me to play one game and with $50, I have made $10,000. After that game - I did not get greedy, but was thankful, but at the same time didn't know if I should accept.
I am so confused if Allah has given me as gift or I should not accept. With this money - I have given 2% charity for giving me such wealth, but I feel guilty because this is not my money and especially haram money.
This is the first time I am able to eat better, and I bought a new bed.. I am now in better health and less stress.. But with each purchase... I am feeling guilty... I feel like I should not accept... When I pray, I feel like Allah is angry with me.. or I will burn in the Hellfire because I lied that I am white and accepted gambling money.... Should I have just stayed and died?
Greetings and peace be with you AllahsWitness; and welcome to the forum,
I think Sister Search has given some good Islamic answers. So this is just a thought, it might be more of a sin for a Muslim if they set up a casino themselves, fixed the odds so they will always win in the end, and use this to exploit people.
My uncle taught me every thing I ever need to know about gambling, he was an incredibly successful business man, he owned a huge warehouse, ran a fleet of lorries and lived in a big house. He went to a casino with friends, and won a lot of money the first time.
He was then hooked on gambling, and easy money, but within a short time, he gambled away his business his house, and then his wife left him. He spent the next forty years of his life trying to win back what he had lost, but sadly he lived in poverty for many years before he died.
I believe winning is the worst thing you can do when you gamble, it gives you a false hope of easy money. All gambling establishments fix the odds in their favour, they will always win in the end. Gambling is an unfair tax on people who do not understand mathematics.
There will be times in the future when you will need money again, please do not feel tempted to gamble again, you were lucky once, so the odds are starting to stack up against you when you gamble again, you will loose.
I have spent the last fifty years working, I can only describe it as a grind, having been fairly poor for most of my life by British standards. But I do believe there is an honesty in trying to earn your keep.
I cannot answer the question because it is not for me to advise , but sister herb did say some things I cannot argue with and also Eric H.
In my humble opinion, the fact that you worry and consider the implications is a good sign.
On another note. Now that you have gone and 'experienced' Vegas, (which was your intention in the first place), do not repeat the journey. If you do, it will only lead to . . .
Consider it a big fitna for you that you have gotten that money. I would say that you get rid of the rest, what you still have, immediately. Tear the bills to bits and throw it away. The reason is that gambling is the biggest ill. And if you keep this money, whenever you need money again for whatever reason, you will be tempted to try gambling again and then you will be addicted and getting away from a gambling addiction is nearly impossible. So don't put yourself in fitna. Get rid of the gambling money you have and promise yourself whatever you already spent, you will remove from yourself as soon as you earn the money. And I don't even suggest giving it in charity.
If you need money, then work harder to earn it through halal means. You can also get charity or welfare and that is better than haram money or gambling. You should trust Allah to give you better and halal and sacrifice haram money for Allah's sake. Life is a test and you have been through many trials. The aim is to pass the trials with patience and eman and not fall into haram.
Another thing I suggest is getting away from friends like the one who took you to vegas. And getting good Muslim company you can find in masajid and Islamic centers.
MashaAllah that you think of doing halal. May Allah keep you steadfast and upright.
If its a matter of survival I would suggest asking someone religiously educated eg a scholar.(without revealing full details of the other stuff besides gambling, because if Allah SWT has concealed your sin no other individual on this planet has the right to judge u over it). Also, lying is permissible under certain situations from what I understood after reading about the wars our Prophet pbuh had engaged in. One of his companions after noticing they were clearly outnumbered by many folds spread rumors amongst the enemy to disperse them.
That being said, keep in mind the life of Abou Bakr As- Siddique (RA). Since him giving away all his wealth by freeying of muslim slaves of the kuffar and bearing expense of wars had left him broke once his wife had asked if he could ask for a just little more ration coz his children wanted to eat something fancy for once. He promptly said no. After some time had passed his wife gave him some sweets after his meal and he asked where did she get the extra ration from. She explained how she had saved and put away little amount everyday from the ration they got and cooked it from that. Immediately Abu Bakr As-Siddique left and told the person in charge of rations to reduce his rations by the amount his wife had saved up to make the sweets. Explanation- he did not want to be in a position where he has to explain to his creator Allah SWT why his family had excess food, even if that meant few sweets once in a year.
I will be remembering you in my duas, as well as all other muslim brothers and sisters being persecuted in Ash-Sham and around the globe. Be strong brother.
format_quote Originally Posted by AllahsWitness
Assalmulaikum brother and sisters.. I need help.. I am new here and I need guidance.....
I have been very poor and could not feed myself by paying bills constantly. I have seriously been in constant hardship that is it very hard for me to even save $50 a month. I am 23 years old, working full time by minimum wage. I am a refugee and I left everything and paid whatever the cost to escape from a harsh country. Both my parents died from bombing and I had to escape for my life. I am only lucky I made to the U.S because I lied that I am white. (Because of my blue colored eyes, and red hair.)
Recently, I have gone to Vegas with my friend because he did not want to go alone. I was not planning on drinking or playing any gambling games but just to see why America likes Vegas so much. My friend force me to play one game and with $50, I have made $10,000. After that game - I did not get greedy, but was thankful, but at the same time didn't know if I should accept.
I am so confused if Allah has given me as gift or I should not accept. With this money - I have given 2% charity for giving me such wealth, but I feel guilty because this is not my money and especially haram money.
This is the first time I am able to eat better, and I bought a new bed.. I am now in better health and less stress.. But with each purchase... I am feeling guilty... I feel like I should not accept... When I pray, I feel like Allah is angry with me.. or I will burn in the Hellfire because I lied that I am white and accepted gambling money.... Should I have just stayed and died?
Assalmulaikum brother and sisters, I have a problem. I have a lot of arrears. I'm a driver at local delivery and they pay too little. I don't know what to do. It sounds pathetic but I am really upset. Do you have some ideas on how to earn money fast? My friend Jack is telling me to try to play [link removed]. But I'm afraid because I've never tried it and there are negative sides of this playing such as addiction and that after you can't stop. I don't know what would Allah said about. I've heard many positive cases of big winning. What do you think? Is it worth trying? Or I should pray to the gift from Allah?
Last edited by Muhammad; 12-14-2021 at 09:24 PM.
Reason: Link to gambling website removed
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