Q: The amount of money a person receives is written and predetermined, so does that mean you get that same amount whether it’s in a halal or haraam way? For example you gamble and win £30, so if that £30 was written for you then would you have got the same amount in a halal way if you didn’t gamble or because gambling is haraam are you creating your own fate of how much money you receive?
A: Sustenance of a person is written but when a person because of his own inclination desires that sustenance from a Haraam source, Allah Ta’aala then opens up that Haraam avenue for him and he receives it from there. This does still not make the use of that Haraam permissible for him. His duty is to adopt patience and wait for it to come from a Halaal source. Impatience of man makes him adopt ways and means which are Haraam. The act of gambling in itself is Haraam and he should not have participated in this Haraam act. But because he adopted this Haraam means, he received Haraam income which now becomes a burden upon him.
Mufti Siraj adds:
Some Ulama have mentioned that Haraam income is not considered Rizq, though it was ordained by Allah that one would indulge in a certain act (through his or her own free will) and thereby earn Haraam. Rizq is that which is Halaal. It comes in a Hadeeth: Let not a delay in your Rizq compel you to earn it through committing sin against Allah, because you can only get what is by Allah through His obedience. (Mishkaatul-Masaabeeh)
May Allah Ta’aala save us from Haraam and from His wrath, Aameen.
Moulana Yusuf Laher
Checked by: Mufti Siraj Desai