He—may Allah Most High have mercy on him—was asked:

Is playing chess forbidden, disliked, or permissible? If you say it is forbidden, what is the evidence for its prohibition? If you say it is disliked, what is the evidence for that? Or if it is permissible, what is the evidence for its permissibility?

He answered:

Praise be to Allah, Lord of all worlds.

Some forms of playing chess are forbidden by unanimous agreement; others are forbidden according to the majority of scholars and disliked according to some. None of the imams of the Muslims regards playing chess as permissible in the sense that playing and refraining are equally acceptable.

If playing chess involves stakes, it is forbidden by unanimous agreement. Abū ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, the leading scholar of the Maghrib, said: “The scholars unanimously agree that playing chess for stakes is gambling and is not permissible.”

Likewise, if playing chess involves neglecting an obligation or committing something forbidden—such as delaying prayer beyond its prescribed time or omitting any of its obligatory inward or outward acts—then it is forbidden by the agreement of the scholars.

It is established in the Sahīh that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“That is the hypocrite’s prayer: he watches the sun until, when it is between the two horns of a devil, he rises and pecks out four units of prayer, remembering Allah only a little during them.”

Thus, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, described this prayer as the prayer of the hypocrites. Allah has condemned their prayer in His words: