14. The things which are prohibited in this verse fall into the following
categories:
(1) Polytheistic divination, which is a form of omen-seeking whereby knowledge
either about one's future or about matters beyond human perception, is sought
from gods and goddesses. The polytheists of Makka had consecrated the idol Hubal
in the Ka'bah for this purpose. Seven arrows had been placed at its altars and
on each of them different words and sentences had been inscribed. Whenever people
were faced with the question whether a certain course was wise or not, or they
wanted to trace something lost, or sought a judgement in a murder case, or had
other similar problems, they would approach the oracle of Hubal, present him
with an offering as his fee, and pray to Hubal to issue a verdict on the question
concerned. Then the oracle would draw arrows, and the inscription on the arrow
which fell to a person's lot was deemed to represent the verdict of Hubal.
(2) Superstitious divination, which has also been prohibited, means that instead
of deciding the problems of life in a rational way one should decide them on
fanciful grounds. Or it could mean deciding matters by arbitrary interpretation
of accidental events, or to have one's future prophesied by means which have
not been reasonably established as adequate for obtaining knowledge about the
future. This includes geomancy, astrology, fortune-telling and the numerous
other methods adopted to determine omens.
(3) Games of chance are also prohibited and include all those transactions in
which what one receives depends on chance and other purely accidental factors
rather than on rational considerations such as either due payment or recompense
for services rendered. This applies, for instance, to lotteries where the holder
of an arbitrarily-drawn number receives a huge amount of money which has been
obtained from thousands of other people. It also applies to crossword puzzles
were the award of prizes does not depend on the actual correctness of the solution
(since several correct solutions are possible) but on accidental conformity
with the particular solution which is arbitrarily chosen as the only correct
one by the sponsors of the puzzle. After prohibiting each of these three categories,
the only kind of lot-drawing which Islam permits is that which one resorts to
when obliged to make a decision either in favour of one of numerous permissible
options or in favour of one out of two or more equally legitimate claimants.
For instance, two persons have an equal claim over a thing which neither of
them is prepared to relinquish, and at the same time there is no reasonable
basis for preferring one to the other. In such a case, with the consent of the
claimants, the matter may be settled by drawing lots. The Prophet (peace be
on him) himself used to resort to drawing lots when he had to make a decision
between two equal claimants, and when preferring one of them would cause distress
and grievance to the other. (For such instances see Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad,
vol. 4, p. 373; Bukhari, 'Nikah', 97 and 'Shahadat', 30; Muslim, 'Fada'il al-Sahabah',
88; Ibn Majah, 'Ahkam', 20, etc. - Ed.)