Is Paying for Equipment After Losing a Match Considered Gambling?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

Is it considered gambling if the losing team in a sports match pays for the shuttlecock, even if it only covers actual expenses?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.

Gambling involves placing a wager or stake, putting something of value at risk, or generating a potential profit or prize based on the outcome. In the above case, there’s no profit; the losing team is only paying for the equipment used.

Gambling is considered to be the staking of wealth by two or more parties, where the winner wins all and the loser loses all.  In other words, gambling is winning at the expense of another’s loss. [Kasani, Bada‘i al-Sana‘i]

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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received a traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.