Is Lottery Haram? - Qazwini

Is lottery haram? According to most scholars, it is haram as it is considered gambling. Sayed Sistani’s rulings are as follows: 1. Buying a lottery. This will depend on the intention. If it’s to win something, then it’s haram. However, if the intention is to participate in a charitable cause like building a hospital, then it’s permissible (even if the likelihood of this type of lottery is very small). 2. Winning a lottery. It’s permissible to receive a lottery prize from a non-Muslim. Does this not contradict with buying a lottery to win something, which is haram? The ‘buying’ component itself is haram, but receiving a prize (i.e. winning) from a lottery is permissible. However, even if that person donates all the money that he won, this action doesn’t cancel the sin he committed when buying the lottery. The person needs to repent for his sin.