it is as though he had dipped his hand in the flesh and blood of a pig.” He also said:

“Whoever plays backgammon has disobeyed Allah and His Messenger.”

It is established that ‘Alī ibn Abī Tālib, may Allah be pleased with him, passed by some people playing chess and said: “What are these statues to which you are so devoted?” It is also reported that he overturned their board.

A group of the early generations said: “Chess is a form of gambling.” This is indeed as they said, for Allah has forbidden gambling. The scholars have unanimously agreed that playing backgammon and chess is forbidden when played for stakes, and that this constitutes the wagering and gambling that Allah has forbidden. Backgammon is forbidden according to the four imams, whether played for stakes or without stakes. Some followers of al-Shāfi‘ī, however, permitted it without stakes, believing that it would not then constitute gambling. Al-Shāfi‘ī himself, the majority of his followers, Ahmad, Abū Hanīfah and the other imams forbid it both with and without stakes.

Likewise, these imams—Mālik, Abū Hanīfah, Ahmad and others—explicitly declared chess forbidden. They differed over which of the two was worse. Mālik and others said: “Chess is worse than backgammon.” Ahmad and others said: “Chess is less serious than backgammon.” For this reason, al-Shāfi‘ī withheld judgment concerning backgammon when it involved no forbidden elements. The source of uncertainty in this matter was that most people who play it do so for stakes, whereas chess is generally played without stakes. Some also thought that playing chess helped develop combat skills because it involved arranging two opposing forces.

The correct assessment is that, when both backgammon and chess are played for stakes, chess is worse than backgammon, for chess in that case is forbidden by the consensus of the Muslims. It is likewise forbidden