Allah said,
﴿وَأَنْ تَسْتَقْسِمُواْ بِالاٌّزْلاَمِ﴾
((Forbidden) also is to make decisions with Al-Azlam) The Ayah commands, "O believers!
You are forbidden to use Al-Azlam (arrows) for decision making,'' which was a practice
of the Arabs during the time of Jahiliyyah. They would use three arrows, one with
the word `Do' written on it, another that says `Do not', while the third does not
say anything. Some of them would write on the first arrow, `My Lord commanded me,'
and, `My Lord forbade me,' on the second arrow and they would not write anything
on the third arrow. If the blank arrow was picked, the person would keep trying
until the arrow that says do or do not was picked, and the person would implement
the command that he picked. Ibn `Abbas said that the Azlam were arrows that they
used to seek decisions through. Muhammad bin Ishaq and others said that the major
idol of the tribe of Quraysh was Hubal, which was erected on the tip of a well inside
the Ka`bah, where gifts were presented and where the treasure of the Ka`bah was
kept. There, they also had seven arrows that they would use to seek a decision concerning
matters of dispute. Whatever the chosen arrow would tell them, they would abide
by it! Al-Bukhari recorded that when the Prophet entered Al-Ka`bah (after Makkah
was conquered), he found pictures of Ibrahim and Isma`il in it holding the Azlam
in their hands. The Prophet commented,
«قَاتَلَهُمُ اللهُ لَقَدْ عَلِمُوا
أَنَّهُمَا لَمْ يَسْتَقْسِمَا بِهَا أَبَدًا»
(May Allah fight them (the idolaters)! They know that they never used the Azlam
to make decisions. ) Mujahid commented on Allah's statement,
﴿وَأَنْ تَسْتَقْسِمُواْ بِالاٌّزْلاَمِ﴾
((Forbidden) also is to make decisions with Al-Azlam,) "These were arrows that the
Arabs used, and dice that the Persians and Romans used in gambling.'' This statement
by Mujahid, that these arrows were used in gambling, is doubtful unless we say that
they used the arrows for gambling sometimes and for decisions other times, and Allah
knows best. We should also state that Allah mentioned Azlam and gambling in His
statement before the end of the Surah (5:90, 91),
﴿يَـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِنَّمَا
الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالاٌّنصَابُ وَالاٌّزْلاَمُ رِجْسٌ مِّنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَـنِ
فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ - إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَـنُ أَن يُوقِعَ
بَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَآءَ فِى الْخَمْرِ وَالْمَيْسِرِ وَيَصُدَّكُمْ
عَن ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَعَنِ الصَّلَوةِ فَهَلْ أَنْتُمْ مُّنتَهُونَ ﴾
(O you who believe! Intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks), and gambling, and
Al-Ansab, and Al-Azlam are an abomination of Shaytan's handiwork. So avoid that
in order that you may be successful. Shaytan wants only to excite enmity and hatred
between you with intoxicants (alcoholic drinks) and gambling, and hinder you from
the remembrance of Allah and from the Salah (the prayer). So, will you not then
abstain) In this Ayah, Allah said,
﴿وَأَنْ تَسْتَقْسِمُواْ بِالاٌّزْلاَمِ
ذَلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ﴾
((Forbidden) also is to make decisions with Al-Azlam, (all) that is Fisq.) meaning,
all these practices constitute disobedience, sin, misguidance, ignorance and, above
all, Shirk. Allah has commanded the believers to seek decisions from Him when they
want to do something, by first worshipping Him and then asking Him for the best
decision concerning the matter they seek. Imam Ahmad, Al-Bukhari and the collectors
of Sunan recorded that Jabir bin `Abdullah said, "The Prophet used to teach us how
to make Istikharah (asking Allah to guide one to the right action), in all matters,
as he taught us the Surahs of the Qur'an. He said,
«إِذَا هَمَّ أَحَدُكُمْ بِالْأَمْرِ
فَلْيَرْكَعْ رَكْعَتَيْنِ مِنْ غَيْرِ الْفَرِيضَةِ، ثُمَّ لْيَقُلْ: اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي
أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ، وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ، وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ
الْعَظِيمِ، فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلَا أَقْدِرُ وَتَعْلَمُ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ، وَأَنْتَ
عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمُرَ ويسميه
باسمه خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَدُنْيَايَ وَمَعَاشِي وعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي أَوْ قَالَ:
عَاجِلِ أَمْرِي وَآجِلِهِ فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي، وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي، ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيهِ،
اللَّهُمَّ وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ شَرٌّ لِي فِي دِينِي وَدُنْيَايَ وَمَعَاشِي
وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي، فَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ، وَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي، وَاقْدُرْ لِيَ الْخَيْرَ
حَيْثُ كَانَ، ثُمَّ رَضِّنِي بِه»
(If anyone of you thinks of doing any matter, he should offer a two Rak'ah prayer,
other than the compulsory, and say (after the prayer) `O Allah! I ask guidance from
Your knowledge, from Your ability and I ask for Your great bounty, for You are capable
and I am not, You know and I do not, and You know the Unseen. O Allah! If You know
that this matter (and one should mention the matter or deed here) is good for my
religion, my livelihood and the Hereafter (or he said, `for my present and later
needs') then ordain it for me, make it easy for me to have, and then bless it for
me. O Allah! And if You know that this is harmful to me in my religion and livelihood
and for the Hereafter then keep it away from me and let me be away from it. And
ordain whatever is good for me, and make me satisfied with it.') This is the wording
collected by Ahmad, and At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan Sahih Gharib."