Can Gambling Winnings Be Used to Repay Gambling Debts?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Can gambling winnings be used to repay gambling debts, or is this still considered benefiting from unlawful wealth?
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.
Using gambling winnings to pay off gambling debts is still not allowed, as it involves benefiting from unlawful money. Instead, you should:
- Repent for participating in gambling.
- Give any illegal earnings to charity without expecting anything in return.
- Use lawful earnings to pay off any debts you owe.
Unlawfully earned money is not rightfully yours. The default action should be to return it to its rightful owners. When this is not possible, we are legally required to return it to them effectively by donating it to charity, as stipulated by the Hanafi scholars. This way, even though their money does not go back to them, they still benefit from it through the charity given on their behalf. [Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
Please go through the valuable answers and links below. Insha’Allah, they will provide you with guidance and direction.
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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.
