Various Miscellaneous Incidents and the Prohibition of Gambling and Chess

There is somewhat of a disagreement with regards to the dates of the letters of invitation, which were written by the Holy Prophet(sa) to the various Kings. In various narrations the date has been recorded as Dhul-Ḥijjah 6 A.H., while others have stated Muḥarram 7 A.H. In any case, however, there is no disagreement in the fact that these six letters of invitation, which have been recorded above, were written immediately after the Treaty of Ḥudaibiyyah. This is why I have included them in the accounts of 6 A.H. However, it is obvious that for emissaries to travel such long distances and then return with a response, definitely required a significant amount of time. Hence, whether these letters were written to the end of 6 A.H. or in the beginning of 7 A.H., it was not until 7 A.H. that their responses were received. However, with the thought of mentioning all relevant occurrences in one place, I have included these letters in the accounts of 6 A.H.

In this very year, i.e., in 6 A.H., the mother of Ḥaḍrat ‘Ā’ishah(ra) whose name was Ummi Rūmān passed away. Ummi Rūmān whose actual name was Zainab,1 first married ‘Abdullāh bin Sakhbarah, and after his demise, married Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakr. She gave birth to ‘Abdur-Raḥmān bin Abī Bakr and Ḥaḍrat ‘Ā’ishah(ra).2 Ummi Rūmān was a very pious lady and possessed a very simple disposition. In her capacity as the wife of Abū Bakr(ra), the first Khalīfah, and the mother of Ḥaḍrat ‘Ā’ishah(ra), the distinction which she acquired in the history of Islām does not require an explanation. When she was being lowered into her grave, the Holy Prophet(sa) said, “Anyone who desires to see a lady of paradise should look at Ummi Rūmān.”3 This is a very simple statement of the Holy Prophet(sa) but it proves that according to the view of the Holy Prophet(sa), the beautiful women of paradise did not infer charming and beautiful women who would be born in the hereafter and placed in paradise to accompany the believers. Instead, this referred to the souls of those pious women of the world who would accompany righteous people in paradise. Furthermore, although every soul would be made young and then enter paradise,4 this proves in any case, that the companionship of paradise would be spiritual in nature, not physical.

According to some, alcohol was prohibited in 6 A.H., but as we have already stated in Volume 2 of this book, in our opinion, it was prohibited after the Ghazwah of Uḥud to the end of 3 A.H. or in the beginning of 4 A.H. This is the view of most Muslim research scholars. Even logically in my opinion, a filthy thing like alcohol, which is the mother of all evils, could not have been left without prohibition for too long after the migration.5 The Holy Prophet(sa) would emphasis the prohibition of alcohol to such extent that he would state, “You should not even sit at a table where another person is consuming alcohol.”6

In the very same year, according to various statements, gambling was also prohibited. Gambling refers to a game of chance, where revenues are not generated on the basis of effort or skill, rather, merely on the basis of coincidental circumstances. Since time spent in the generation of such revenue not only destroys a person’s character, but also becomes a means of ruining the balance of national wealth, with immense wisdom, the Islāmic Sharī‘at forbade gambling as well.7

There is no doubt that hasty people who flow away with the tide of freedom, fear all kinds of restrictions. However, there is not an iota of doubt in the fact that the restrictions placed upon Muslims by Islām is solely for their own benefit; and the prohibition of gambling is due to the same principle.8

Chess was forbidden during the very same year9 because firstly, it generally becomes an excuse for gambling, and secondly, a person becomes so engrossed in it, that he becomes negligent towards the beneficial aspects of life. Islām certainly does not forbid a legitimate means of leisure, but it does indeed prohibit a person from moving about at whim in the likeness of an unbridled camel and destroying the beneficial aspects of his life. The game of chess possesses two great aspects of evil. Firstly, chess players become so overly indulged that they become negligent of the world around them. Secondly, they become inclined towards gambling, because chess is usually played with bets. Therefore, with immense wisdom, Islām has prohibited this game.

In actuality, the Islāmic philosophy of Sharī‘at does not only state that such things are forbidden which are evil in their current state. In fact, even those things are forbidden which may not be evil in their current state, but they pull an individual towards evil in normal circumstances and this attraction is extraordinarily dominant. It is for this reason that the Holy Prophet(sa) states in principle with regards to drinking, etc.:

“A small quantity of anything which causes intoxication in large quantity is also forbidden.”10

This blessed statement of the Holy Prophet(sa) is based on the extremely deep and subtle psychological philosophy. There are certain evils in the world that when a person commits them once, he is unable to stop advancing in them; every step pushes a person to take the next. However, it is unfortunate that very few people have understood and valued this philosophy.

At this juncture, Part I of Volume 3 comes to an end.