usury and gambling. Allah mentioned the prohibition of usury—which is the opposite of charity—at the end of Surat al-Baqara and in the surahs Āl Imrān, al-Rūm, and al-Muddaththir. He condemned the Jews for it in Surat al-Nisā’, and mentioned the prohibition of gambling in Surat al-Mā’ida.

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) then explained in detail what Allah had stated comprehensively in His Book. “He (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade sales involving uncertainty,” as Muslim and others narrated from Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him). Uncertainty here means that the outcome is unknown, and selling such a thing is a form of gambling. For example, if an enslaved person absconds or a horse or camel strays, the owner’s sale of it is itself a gamble, and the buyer purchases it for far less than its value. If the buyer succeeds in obtaining it, the seller says, “You have beaten me in a gamble and taken my property for a paltry price.” But if he does not obtain it, the buyer says, “You have beaten me in a gamble and taken my money without giving me anything in return.” This leads to the harm inherent in gambling—namely, the creation of enmity and hatred—in addition to the wrongful consumption of wealth, which is a form of injustice. Thus, a sale involving uncertainty entails injustice, enmity, and hatred.

[Among the forms of uncertainty] are the sales that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade: the sale of the future offspring of an unborn animal; the sale of fetuses still in wombs and of seed still in breeding males; the sale of future fruit crops for several years; the sale of fruit before its ripeness has become evident; sales concluded merely by touching or throwing an item; and all similar transactions involving uncertainty.