Sunan Abi Dawud 4938
سنن أبي داود#4938Hasanحَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْلَمَةَ، عَنْ مَالِكٍ، عَنْ مُوسَى بْنِ مَيْسَرَةَ، عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ أَبِي هِنْدٍ، عَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى الأَشْعَرِيِّ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " مَنْ لَعِبَ بِالنَّرْدِ فَقَدْ عَصَى اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ " .
Narrated AbuMusa al-Ash'ari: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: He who plays backgammon disobeys Allah and His Apostle
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. Each scholar's own wording:
Al-AlbaniHasan
Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul HamidHasan
Shuaib Al ArnautDaif
Zubair Ali ZaiDaif
In-book reference: 43:166