Is it permissible to bet on horses in our present day?
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The questioner : Ibn al-Qayyim...
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him), in his book on horsemanship, did not see the requirement of a *muhallil* (a third party to separate the bettors) between the racers. So, is it permissible to bet on horses now, given their current reality?
The Shaykh : No. Every question has an answer. As long as you are speaking of its current reality, it is not permissible, because the intention behind it is not preparation for jihad in the path of Allah, but rather gambling.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : It is possible, it is possible, as long as the intention is for the sake of jihad. Otherwise, we would be returning to the position of the Zahiris.
The questioner : It was mentioned in the biography of Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) that he retracted this statement. Do you have any evidence for this?
The Shaykh : No, I have no knowledge of it. We only know what he himself mentioned. Who mentioned this in his biography?
The questioner : Ibn Hajar and Ibn Kathir in *al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya*. Ibn Hajar in *al-Durar al-Kaminnah*. It is said that Qadi al-Subki summoned them and punished him for it...
The Shaykh : Ah, this... it is possible. Allahu Akbar, how many there were... Subhan Allah. Yes, who is asking?
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him), in his book on horsemanship, did not see the requirement of a *muhallil* (a third party to separate the bettors) between the racers. So, is it permissible to bet on horses now, given their current reality?
The Shaykh : No. Every question has an answer. As long as you are speaking of its current reality, it is not permissible, because the intention behind it is not preparation for jihad in the path of Allah, but rather gambling.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : It is possible, it is possible, as long as the intention is for the sake of jihad. Otherwise, we would be returning to the position of the Zahiris.
The questioner : It was mentioned in the biography of Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) that he retracted this statement. Do you have any evidence for this?
The Shaykh : No, I have no knowledge of it. We only know what he himself mentioned. Who mentioned this in his biography?
The questioner : Ibn Hajar and Ibn Kathir in *al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya*. Ibn Hajar in *al-Durar al-Kaminnah*. It is said that Qadi al-Subki summoned them and punished him for it...
The Shaykh : Ah, this... it is possible. Allahu Akbar, how many there were... Subhan Allah. Yes, who is asking?
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.