Fatwa No : 3590
Is it permissible to play cards and chess?

Is it permissible to play cards and chess?

Is it permissible to play cards and chess? If not, please furnish reference of any authentic Hadees. And also please mention the reasons as to why. Does not the potential capacity of the brain increase by these? Request for Dua also.

الجوابُ حامِدا ًو مُصلیِّا ً

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent and the Most Merciful
Chess and sports of the like where, gambling is involved as a condition of win and loss; dereliction is observed in Salat and other religious rituals and activities; become a source of negligence of same due to it’s engrossment, are beyond doubt prohibited and impermissible in Shari’a. This is the reason why evilness and prohibition is mentioned in Ahadees e Mubaraka and to the extent that such a person is called as a Mal’oon (Cursed). Therefore it is necessary for every Muslim to refrain from engaging in such Sports where these types of conditions are found.
Allah knows best.