What is the ruling on playing backgammon with dice?
Short answer
The cited source establishes the prohibition of playing with dice. Accordingly, backgammon is included when the game in question is played with dice.
Evidence and explanation
The source establishes the prohibition of dice games. The connection to “backgammon” here is limited to backgammon played with dice, not every possible use of the word.
Scholar referenced
This editorial summary is based on the original source linked below and is not presented as a verbatim quotation from the scholar.
From the text of the answer (Arabic, with an English translation)
Original answer — Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz
ما صحة حديث: «من لعب بالنرد فقد عصى الله»؟ — فتوى ٩٣٩٠- Question
«هذا السائل من الرياض عبدالرحمن يقول: أرجو الإجابة على سؤالي: ما مدى صحة الحديث النبوي الذي قال فيه ﷺ: من لعب بالنرد فقد عصى الله وما هو النرد؟»
English translation (unreviewed): This questioner, 'Abd al-Rahman from Riyadh, says: Please answer my question: How authentic is the prophetic hadith in which he ﷺ said: “Whoever plays with nard (backgammon dice) has disobeyed Allah”, and what is nard?
- From the text of the answer
«النرد آلة من آلات الملاهي، فالحديث ثابت، فقد عصى الله ورسوله وفي بعض الروايات: فكأنما صبغ يده بدم خنزير، بلحم خنزير ودمه ، فهو لعبة لا أعرف تفصيلها لكنه من آلات الملاهي. نعم. الحكم على الأحاديث»
English translation (unreviewed): Nard is one of the instruments of amusement. The hadith is authentic: “he has disobeyed Allah and His Messenger”, and in some narrations: “it is as if he dyed his hand in the flesh and blood of a pig”. It is a game whose details I do not know, but it is one of the instruments of amusement. Yes. [Page heading:] Ruling on hadiths.
The Arabic excerpts matched the original page word for word by an automated check and have not had human scholarly review. The English translations are unreviewed translations made for this site; they are not an approved Shari‘ah translation. Rely on the Arabic original.
Source
Authenticity and meaning of the hadith concerning playing with dice
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on him