Muslim clerics defend Mohammad Kaif by confirming there is no harm in playing chess

Mohammad Kaif became the latest victim of social media trollers a few days ago. Including him, three Indian cricketers were bashed for being ‘un-Islamic’ within a very short span of time. It all began with the veteran Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan. The Baroda cricketer uploaded his picture on Facebook with his wife. His wife had her face half-covered with her hands. This picture ignited religious sentiments as people came rushing towards the cricketer’s page and gave him the tag.

Mohammed Shami was the next to get the ‘un-Islamic’ tag. His mistake? he celebrated his daughter’s birthday. According to many of his fans who belong to his religion, celebrating birthdays is considered as ‘haraam’ or forbidden in Islam. The third cricketer in the line was a retired batsman Mohammad Kaif. Kaif used the technology to tell the world that he was playing the brainstorming game of chess with his son.

Little did he know that the floodgates will be opened soon and the comments section will be filled with people terming him ‘un-Islamic’ for playing chess with his son. According to them, playing chess is ‘haraam’. However, Kaif paid no heed to the comments and turned to social media again, this time Twitter, to shut down his trollers with a hilarious yet befitting tweet.

No harm in playing chess provided gambling isn’t involved

But after the incident, Kaif has received the support of many people from all religions. Now, he has the support of Muslim clerics. The clerics see no harm in playing chess, as long as gambling is not involved. While speaking to the news agency ANI, a Muslim cleric from Delhi named Imam Sajid Rashidi stated that the people who are accusing the 36-year-old of being ‘un-Islamic’ were wrong. He further stated as long as chess doesn’t mix with gambling, there is no harm in indulging in the board game.