What is the ruling on receiving and taking possession of monetary amounts granted to participants in an annual program based on the number of points they earn from various challenges such as eating, games, and scientific and Sharia-related questions?
If the program is beneficial, participation in it is free, and the competitions are useful scientific and cultural ones, as well as permissible games, then there is no harm in participating in it and benefiting from the points and exchanging them for money. This is because some scholars have likened beneficial scientific competitions to those competitions permitted by the Lawgiver, such as horse, camel, and archery races. Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, and the followers of Abu Hanifa have held that it is permissible to offer a prize for competitions in memorizing the Qur'an, , Fiqh, and other beneficial sciences. They considered this even more deserving of permissibility than physical competitions, by analogy with the permissibility of wagering in archery, horse racing, and camel racing, due to their role in preparing for strength for jihad. As for eating challenges, we see no benefit or utility in them, and we find no statement from scholars regarding the permissibility of taking compensation for them.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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