Playing chess

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asif1984

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i used to play chess but someone told me that playing chess is haram in Islam. Is it true?.. is it strictly forbidden in islam? shld i quit playing chess or can i find any reason to play?
 
:sl:
This is an area that causes a hell of a lot of confusion for muslim and non.
Basically, there were many types of chess throughout history and one of those types of chess used die/dice. That is the haram chess.

The chess that is commonly played nowadays is not the haram one.

However, excessively playing chess and other forms of entertainment can pull you away from Islam, and thus technically become haram. So one sould avoid excessiveness - not just in recreation might I add.

P,s; I'm no imaam - just a bacha. With a lacha. And access to the internet :)
 
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aamirsaab said:
:sl:
This is an area that causes a hell of a lot of confusion for muslim and non.
Basically, there were many types of chess throughout history and one of those types of chess used die/dice. That is the haram chess.

The chess that is commonly played nowadays is not the haram one.

However, excessively playing chess and other forms of entertainment can pull you away from Islam, and thus technically become haram. So one sould avoid excessiveness - not just in recreation might I add.

P,s; I'm no imaam - just a bacha. With a lacha. And access to the internet :)
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thnks bro...
i m not a regular player....also into learning process...was planning to play with bros on eid day to kill time :)...
 
Here is my general understanding. If anything which does not benefit your dunya or akhirat i.e playing chess that is haraam. It would be a waste of time and time is something which is a sin to waste because it does not belong to us rather it is an amaanat (trust) from Allah s.w.t. bestowed upon us.
 
aamirsaab said:
:sl:
This is an area that causes a hell of a lot of confusion for muslim and non.
Basically, there were many types of chess throughout history and one of those types of chess used die/dice. That is the haram chess.

The chess that is commonly played nowadays is not the haram one.

However, excessively playing chess and other forms of entertainment can pull you away from Islam, and thus technically become haram. So one sould avoid excessiveness - not just in recreation might I add.

P,s; I'm no imaam - just a bacha. With a lacha. And access to the internet :)
Click to expand...

He said it all.

Also may I add, the chess in those days they used to bet while playing it (BETTING). That's what was haram in those days. But the chess these days you just play for fun and you don't bet any money or items.

If I'm wrong, forgive me and correct me, as I'm not positive about my answer. :).
 
I have heard it is Mukrah(disliked, but not haram.)

(I am wondering about this subject too, which is why I am responding lol)

I have heard that in the Hadiths, it says that all entertainment except for wrestling, running, and swimming is haram. Is this an Islamic view, or?

Maliks -
Book 52, Number 52.2.7:

Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi from Abdullah ibn Umar that when he found one of his family playing dice he beat him and destroyed the dice.

Yahya said that he heard Malik say, "There is no good in chess, and he disapproved of it." Yahya said, "I heard him disapprove of playing it and other worthless games. He recited this ayat, 'What is there after the truth except going the wrong way.' " (Sura l0 ayat 32).

-- I would imagine that the TV, internet, and video games are quite worthless, no? So does that mean they are all haram in Islam?
 
^Not all entertainment is Haram. We should also have lives as Muslims, not make ibadah ALL day. Although there are limits to how much you play. If you are playing chess so much that you miss your fard prayers or that it is causing you to miss necessary activities in your life, then you can say it is haram.
 
The suggestion chess (or a predecessor to it) might be haram seems to be a recent one! From Wiki

Chess originated in India, where its early form in the 6th century was chaturanga, which translates as "four divisions of the military"-- infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots, represented respectively by pawn, knight, bishop, and rook. In Persia around 600 the name became shatranj and the rules were developed further. Shatranj was taken up by the Muslim world after the Islamic conquest of Persia, with the pieces largely retaining their Persian names. In Spanish "shatranj" was rendered as ajedrez and in Greek as zatrikion, but in the rest of Europe it was replaced by versions of the Persian shāh ("king").

The game reached Western Europe and Russia by at least three routes, the earliest being in the 9th century. By the year 1000 it had spread throughout Europe.Introduced into the Iberian Peninsula by the Moors in the 10th centuryit was described in a famous 13th century manuscript covering shatranj, backgammon, and dice named the Libro de los juegos.It seems muslims are more responsible for spreading the game than anybody else!
 
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Thirdwatch: Makhru and haram are two different things. That which is haram is usually something that is harmful towards humans (e.g. alcohol). Also, if something keeps you away from Islam for a period of time (thus harming your imaan) then this too can be considered haram. So haram can be almost anything that is halaal, given the circumstances (and vice versa but that I shall explain later if you'd like). It's not always clear cut but for the most part it is.

Makhru is sort of like a grey area or something that is not haram but disliked (e.g. bad manners, swearing). That hadith you posted will require an amount of knowledge that unfortunately I do not have right now so I cannot comment on it. It does relate to the chess game where dice is used, however since I do not have enough knowledge I cannot comment further.

Trumble: A lot of fatwas and rulings consider that the chess played today (pawns, rooks, bishops, queen/king etc) is the haraam one. However, by doing some extra research I found out that the ruling has been confused - its for the dice-based chess not the chess played today. However, the ruling about excessivly playing chess can be considered haram since it keeps you away from prayers etc. As stated previously, anything that is done excessively, and in doing so keeps you away from Islam, can be considered haram.
 
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I don't have the most knowledge, but I'd have to say it's not haraam unless it's obsessively played or bet upon. People need to relax a bit and if that helps then you should do it.

If it was considered to be haraam since it's a game or could be construed as a waste of time then most things in life are haraam.
 
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i posted most of this before:

Quote:
The World History of Chess

(idea) by Martian_Bob (1.5 mon) (print) ? 1 C! I like it! Wed Aug 08 2001 at 21:38:10

Chess seems to have originated in or near India. The oldest name for chess, chaturanga, is a Sanskrit word referring to the four branches of the Indian army: elephants, horses, chariots and footsoldiers. Chess was originally played with dice; in fact, the forerunner of the modern chessboard, the ashtapada, was used for many dice games. Both two player and four player versions of the game existed. The four player version was played both with and without dice, in which each player had eight pieces. The diceless version is still played today in India. The exact age of dice is hard to pin down; the four branches of the Indian army did not exist after the birth of Christ, and 5000 year old references to skilled "dice" players may or may not be refering to chess players.
Some variations:

The Burmese start the game with the King-side pawns on the third rank and the Queen-side pawns on the fourth rank. Before any movement begins, the major pieces can be placed by the player anywhere behind the pawns. The moves today are identical to the original Hindu chess moves.

The Chinese place their pieces on the intersections of the lines rather than on the squares, and add a celestial river, akin to no-man's land, between halves on the board. Their version only has five pawns to a side, but adds two cannons ahead of knights and a counselor on either side of the King. In China, the King is called the general, because an emperor was so insulted at seeing a figure of himself in a "lowly" game that he had the players executed. In order to play the game without risk of execution, Chinese players demoted the piece on the board. ah, Xiangqi, a wonderfully beautiful game!


The Japanese allow captured pieces to change sides and rejoin the game against their old army at any vacent spot on the board. shogi, not so much fun

The spread of chess to Europe was courtesy of Muslims, who inherited the game from the Persians, after conquering the empire in the 7th century. The Persians weren't too fond of either dice chess or four player chess, so the diceless two player version is what we have in dominance today. Chess became very popular in the Muslim world, and the Muslims created a greatly detailed literature about it, but only after almost 100 years of debate amongst theologians to determine whether or not chess playing was contary to the teachings of Mohammed. most relevant paragraph

Russia was the first place chess made its mark in the European world, perhaps as early as the 8th century. By the 16th century, travelers to Russia reported that people of all classes played chess, whereas chess was strictly the game of nobility until the 18th century. Modern rules of chess (such as castling and the move en passant) were not in use in many parts of Russia until the 20th century.

The first major rules changes came at both European and Muslim hands around the 13th century. The first known chessboard with alternating white and black tiles was introduced around this period. Muslim documents from the 15th century note that the great Mogul Timor played a verson of chess requiring a 10x11 square board, which he called 'Great Chess.' Meanwhile, impatient Europeans started changing rules to speed things up. Originally, the Bishop could move only two squares diagonally, but could jump over pieces as a Knight. The Queen could move only one diagonal square at once. Both pieces were strengthened to range over the whole board, though the Bishop lost its power to jump.

Checkmate became rather easy to achieve given the Bishop and Queen's new found strength, so the move to castle was created. Around the same time, pawns were given the option to move one or two squares as an initial move. To prevent such a move to be used to avoid capture, the move en passant was created. Since the 16th century, no major changes to the game have been made.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: http://bulk.microtech.com.au/angelcat/history.htm

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If it's the dice that made it haram, then ANY GAME that uses a randomizer such as PC Games, XBox, PSII or whatever would be Haram as well!!!!!!!!!

makes sense, no?

:w:
 
i've always wanted to learn to play chess...
but ****, now i'm not even sure we are allowed?!
forgive me if i'm wrong but the normal (new) chess is just a game, is it not?!
like say Snakes & Ladders, but for the more sophisticated!
why would it be haraam?
its not gambling, i accept the possibility of it being makruh, but declaring something as haram is a serious issue.
i'll hold my thoughts until i see more evidence...
Salaams
 
As Salaam Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu

The prohibition, in fact, stems from the Ahaadith. Nabi [Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam] said, Whoever plays blackgammon or chess is as though has immersed his hands into the blood of pig. (Nasbur raayah vol.4) There are many actions, which, in spite of having benefit are prohibited because the harms outweigh its benefits. Allah mentions about wine, the wrong in them is greater than the benefit.(Baqarah217). Similar is the case of chess, even it has certain benefits, but the harm is greater than the benefit which causes a person to spend hours and even days at a time on it, thus, distracting a person from his purpose of creation which is to worship his creator. According to the Shaafiee Madhab, it is permissible on condition that it does not prevent from performing your Fardh (compulsory) duties because it sharpens the mind. However, if you are a Hanafi, you are bound to follow the Hanafi ruling and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best
 
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Aaliyah~ said:
^^^
but its not Haram? right?
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As Salaam Alaykum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu

Chess is a very popular game, and the opinion of jurists concerning it varies. Some scholars consider it halal (permissible), others consider it makruh (reprehensible), and still others consider it haram (unlawful).

Those who consider it haram cite some hadiths in support of their view, but researchers have proved that chess did not appear until after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Thus all such hadiths must have been fabricated.

The Companions of the Prophet (may Allah be pleased with them all) themselves held different views about playing chess. Ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said that it is worse than backgammon and `Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) regarded it as gambling (perhaps meaning when it is played for money), while some others merely expressed disapproval of it.

However, some Companions and some of the second generation of scholars allowed it. Among those were Ibn `Abbas, Abu Hurayrah, Ibn Sirin, Hisham bin `Umrah, and Sa`id Ibn Al-Musayyib. We agree with those great jurists, since the original principle is the permissibility of acts and no text is to be found prohibiting.

1- One should not get so absorbed in it that he delays his prayer; chess is well-known to be a stealer of time.

2- There should be no gambling involved.

3- The players should not utter obscenities or vulgarities.

May Allah guide you to the straight path, and direct you to that which pleases Him, Amen.

Allah Hafiz
Sister Fatima
 
:w:

thanx 4 the info sis, i don't know how to play the game myself, but like i said i couldn't see the logic behind it being declared haram.
still,
Allah knows best.
 
truemuslim said:
...when in the world was chess played by dice btw?
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The original Indian version seems to have had forms both with and without dice, although the Persians preferred the form without and that was what the muslims spread into Europe. YusufNooor linked to a potted history of chess earlier.
 
Playing chess makes you smarter and you will learn to concentrate much easier and harder, not to mention that playing chess is a brain marathon.

Why would it be haraam as long as money is not involved (staking money).
 
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asifsomy said:
:sl:

i used to play chess but someone told me that playing chess is haram in Islam. Is it true?.. is it strictly forbidden in islam? shld i quit playing chess or can i find any reason to play?
Click to expand...

i m not sure if there is any such verse in Quran against chess , it's found in hadith.

anything that keeps u busy for hours & u miss ur prayers in due time ....u must not do those things . Dr. Zakir said , when Muslims are busy playing cricket , they miss their salah....that's the reason he does not like cricket.
 

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