Is It Permissible to Play Ludo or Other Games Involving Dice?

Answered by Ustadh Salman Younas

Question

I love to play Ludo with my friends. The game involves dice.

There’s no gambling and we are mindful to fulfill our obligations like prayer and everything i.e. play it in our free time. Is it impermissible?

Answer

As Shaykh Faraz Rabbani has explained, some scholars have stated that games that involve dice are not inherently impermissible. Rather, they are only impermissible when accompanied with gambling, neglecting prayer, and the like.

The majority of scholars, however, stated that games of dice are impermissible on account of involving dice even if there is no gambling involved. This is, of course, the more precautionary position to follow.

For details, please see: Is it permissible to play board games with dice?

[Ibn Abd al-Barr, al-Istidhkar (8:426); al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim (15:15)]

[Ustadh] Salman Younas
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani 

Ustadh Salman Younas graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Political Science and Religious Studies. After studying the Islamic sciences online and with local scholars in New York, Ustadh Salman moved to Amman. There he studies Islamic law, legal methodology, belief, hadith methodology, logic, Arabic, and tafsir.