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Non-monetary bet: is it haram?

Answered as per Hanafi Fiqh by Qibla.com

Answered by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari

Is betting where money isn’t involved haram? For instance, two friends play a sport and the looser has to drink espresso… or something silly like that (i.e. something that wouldn’t cause harm)?

Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

No, this type of dare would not fall into the definition of unlawful gambling or chancing, hence it would be permitted, provided there is no harm in the act one dares to undertake in case of losing.

Unlawful betting is where one places his wealth at stake (actually or by promising to pay later) in order to obtain the wealth of another and the transaction is contingent upon a future uncertain event, whereas in the said situation, one is merely vowing to drink coffee or carry out some act, if one lost the game. Thus, this is not a form of gambling.

However, if the loser was obliged to buy the winner a cup of espresso or something else, then that would constitute gambling, hence not permitted.

And Allah knows best

Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari
Darul Iftaa, Leicester, UK

This answer was indexed from Qibla.com, which used to have a repository of Islamic Q&A answered by various scholars. The website is no longer in existence. It has now been transformed into a learning portal with paid Islamic course offering under the brand of Kiflayn.

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