Prohibition of chess except under certain conditions.

The Shaykh : Since the matter is thus, it is not permissible to play chess as long as these statues are visible in it. And when it is necessary to play chess, it is obligatory to eliminate these statues. After that, a second condition applies, which is that the chess player does not become a slave to it, such that it diverts him from his true servitude to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), diverting him from performing the obligatory duties incumbent upon him. These are not just the five prayers, for example, and in congregation. It is not sufficient for us to say that the prohibited aspect of playing chess is only that it distracts one from performing the obligations and the five prayers in congregation. Rather, it must be coupled with the fact that this play does not divert him from every obligation that Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) has made obligatory upon him, such as, for example, fulfilling his duty toward his family, toward his children, and toward his brothers in general. If the play of chess is free from this type of sins, we say that at that time it is permissible, adhering to the presumption of original permissibility, since the original ruling for things is permissibility unless a text comes that compels us to move from it to what the transmitter included in the ruling, either prohibition or dislike. These are two examples of the examples by which people are afflicted with amusement and wasting time on them. One is an example of something directly prohibited, so it is not permissible to engage in it absolutely, which is dice. And one is an example where no specific prohibition has been established, which is chess. Therefore, the ruling in it must be governed according to the precautions surrounding it. If it is free from any of that, playing it is permissible by way of recreation for the soul, and nothing more, as it is said when we know the ruling of these two examples.