A man whose entire wealth comes from gambling, and who borrowed money for gambling, then repented: should he repay this debt that is from gambling, in gambling, and for gambling, or what should he do?

The questioner : ... in the gambling house, and it is entirely a gambling house, meaning the owner of the money does not give money to anyone except for gambling. He borrowed money from him for gambling, then Allah guided him. Should he repay the money that is, meaning, from gambling, for gambling, and in gambling? Or what should he do?

The Shaykh : Do you mean the pre-Islamic age of ignorance of the individual, meaning?

The questioner : Yes, I mean the pre-Islamic age of ignorance of the individual.

The Shaykh : Specifically, meaning.

The questioner : Yes, this is what I mean.

The Shaykh : There is no doubt that it is obligatory for him to fulfill the debt that is upon him, regardless of the nature of the debt or the money the creditor possessed, and regardless of the motive that led the debtor to take it. It is obligatory to perform the payment based on the generality of the evidence and no regard is given here to incidental matters, whether they relate to the owner, the creditor, or the debtor. He must fulfill it.

The questioner : O our Shaykh, this statement is correct, but when, for example, he is sitting in this gambling house, and the owner of the gambling house does not sit at the table except for gambling, and the place is open for gambling, and they sit there for gambling, does this change anything in the ruling?

The Shaykh : It does not change anything. Now, do you know that many fights occur during gambling because one person becomes wronged and the other becomes a wrongdoer, so there is beating and killing between them, and so on. Therefore, failing to fulfill the right that he borrowed would be another cause for creating such new fights and harms. First: the principle should be adopted. Second: the harms that may result from not carrying out this principle should be considered.