Question: ---------- Is it permissible to cast lots in order to make a decision? Answer by Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi -------------------------------------------------- In order to provide an answer to this question, we need to specify the type of decisions to which the question is referring. Generally speaking, one has to look at the action to see if it is obligatory or recommended according to the sharia in which case one should not show any hesitation about performing the act; if it is proscribed or disliked, then one has to distance himself from it without any attempt to foresee whether there be any good in it. If the matter in question is neither incumbent nor prohibited, neither recommended nor disliked, and is simply permissible, then one may find a way to know whether one should do it or not. The best way in this regard is to do the istikharah prayer which is an essential tool in our survival kit to be used throughout our lives whenever we need to make decisions. Sometimes the decisions we intend to make may involve other people, and we do not want to have any prejudice towards the people involved, so we need to use another method for determining the good for them, which is, in this case, casting lots. To clarify, we may present the following example: Ahmad wants to travel from Syria to do some business; he has two options to choose from: either to do business in Egypt or in Italy. He intends to take with him one of his several sons. First of all, he has to seek the sharia ruling on his trip. If it is for doing business that benefits his country, it is then encouraged; but the two options here do not bear the same legal status; if business is the same, then traveling to an Islamic country is preferred over traveling to a non-Islamic country for several reasons; thus, casting lots to choose between the two countries would not be valid. However, when choosing between his sons, in order to make them all content with his decision, he may cast lottery, and then take with him the one whose name appears in the lottery. We read in al-Sahih that the Prophet salla Allah-u alayhi wa ‘aalihi wasallam used to cast lottery between his wives to decide whom to take with him when he went for battles. This led scholars of the Principles of Jurisprudence to consider casting lots (or more precisely “Qurah” as known in Arabic), one of the final sources of legislation to which a Mujtahid may have recourse. Our encyclopedic works of Islamic law contain some rare examples of the application of this principle.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 13:54:46 +0000
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