Understanding Islamic Finance - Doha Academy of Tertiary Studies

62 Understanding Islamic Financeother’s right. Qimār means the game of chance – one gains at the cost of other(s); a personputs his money or a part of his wealth at stake wherein the amount of money at risk mightbring huge sums of money or might be lost or damaged. While the word used in the HolyQur’ān for prohibition of gambling and wagering is “Maisir” (verses 2: 219 and 5: 90, 91),the Hadith literature discusses this act generally in the name of “Qimār”.According to the jurists, the difference between Maisir and Qimār is that the latter isan important kind of the former. “Maisir”, derived from “Yusr”, means wishing somethingvaluable with ease and without paying an equivalent compensation (‘Iwad) for it or withoutworking for it, or without undertaking any liability against it, by way of a game of chance.“Qimār” also means receipt of money, benefit or usufruct at the cost of others, havingentitlement to that money or benefit by resorting to chance. Both words are applicable togames of chance. References from the Holy Qur’ān in this regard are:• “O you who believe! intoxicants and gambling, sacrificing to stones, and divination byarrows, are abominable actions of Satan; so abstain from them, that you may prosper.”(5: 90)• “Satan intends to excite enmity and hatred among you with intoxicants and gambling, andhinder you from the remembrance of Allah, and from prayer; will ye not then abstain?”(5: 91)• “They ask thee concerning wine and gambling. Say: ‘In them is great sin and somebenefits for people; but the sin is greater than the benefits’.” (4: 219)Gambling is a form of Gharar because the gambler is ignorant of the result of the gamble.A person puts his money at stake wherein the amount being risked might bring huge sumsof money or might be lost or damaged. Present-day lotteries are also a kind of gambling.According to Pakistan’s Federal Shariat Court (FSC), a lottery in which coupons or tabs aregiven and inducement or incentives are provided by an uncertain and unknown event dependingon chance, or disproportionate prizes are distributed by the drawing of lots and where a participatingperson intends to avail themselves of a chance at prizes is repugnant to the tenets of theSharī´ah. The FSC adds that a scheme wherein the investors’ money is safe and intact, but theprizes to be given are related to interest generated from capital accumulated through it, is alsorepugnant to the tenets of the Sharī´ah due to the involvement of Qimār.Maisir and Qimār are involved in a number of conventional financial transactions andbank schemes/products which Islamic banks have to avoid. Conventional insurance is notSharī´ah-compliant due to the involvement of both Riba and Maisir. Governments andpublic/private sector corporations mobilize resources on the basis of lottery and draws,which come under the banner of gambling and are, therefore, prohibited. Present futures andoptions contracts that are settled through price differences only are covered under gambling.In Webster’s dictionary, a lottery has been defined as “a distribution of prizes by lots orchance”. In practice, a number of forms of lottery are prevalent, some of which might bevalid, but the majority are invalid from the Sharī´ah point of view. It is necessary to havea test to decide which are permitted and which are not. An analysis of the Qur’ānic versesand the holy Prophet’s traditions would show that in valid lotteries, no one should have anypersonal right or vested interest in the matter and no one should be deprived of what he hadalready had or contributed to the process. Further, if the exigency of a situation dictates thatsome out of them have to forego any right or fulfil any liability, the solution in the absence