This line of reasoning is the sounder one, both in the light of revealed texts and by analogy (1), and the principles and overall thrust of the Sharia corroborate it when duly considered. Allah, Exalted is He, says in His Book:
“O you who believe! Wine, gambling, idolatrous altars and divining arrows are only an abomination of Satan’s handiwork; so shun them that you may prosper. Surely Satan seeks only to sow enmity and hatred among you through wine and gambling, and to turn you away from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer. Will you not then desist? Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and beware; but if you turn away, know that Our Messenger’s duty is only to convey the clear message.” [al-Māʾidah: 90–92]

Here, gambling is mentioned alongside idolatrous altars, divining arrows and wine; Allah declares that all four are filth and the work of Satan, then commands that they be avoided and makes prosperity contingent on shunning them. He next points out the specific harms that warrant their prohibition: the enmity and hatred Satan plants among those who engage in them, and their diversion from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer.

It is plain to everyone that these evils arise from the activity itself, not merely from the taking of money through it. To explain the prohibition solely by saying that it involves devouring wealth unlawfully is therefore to base the ruling on a factor other than that named in the text, while disregarding the very attribute the text (2) singles out and directs our attention to.

Such an argument is flawed on both grounds.

This is further clarified by the fact that the early Muslims, whose language was the medium of the Quran, referred to the very practice