Lottery is a Form of Gambling
Question :
A charitable organization wishes to organize a lottery, to fund its activities and to serve society. Is this permissible?
Answer:
Lottery drawings are a form of gambling which is unlawful according to the Book, the Sunnah, and consensus- as Allah Almighty says:
"O you who believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), gambling. Al-Ansah (stone altars), and Al-Azlam (arrows for seeking luck or decision) are an abomination of Shaytan's handiwork. So avoid that in order that you may be successful. Shaytan wants only to excite enmity and hatred between you with intoxicants (alcoholic drinks) and gambling, and hinder you from the remembrance of Allah, and from As-Salah. So, will you not then abstain?"
It is not allowed for any group of Muslims to have anything to do with gambling, whether it be to use the wealth earned to spend it in a charitable way, or anything else, since it is one of the evil unlawful things due to the generality of the proofs, and because the profits that result from gambling are a form of the unlawful which is obligatory to stay far away from, and to beware of. And with Allah is the facilitation to do what is right.
Source:
Ibn Baz
Fatawa Islamiyah, Vol. 8 Pages 271-272
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