Is it permissible to participate in an Islamic competition that requires sending an SMS message at a cost significantly higher than the normal cost, given that the competition organizers know that the prizes are not paid for by the messages and that there is a sponsor for the competition who takes nothing from the value of the messages, and that the money is distributed equally among the hardware and technical support company and the telecommunications company?

Entering competitions that require calling or sending text messages is permissible according to Islamic law, provided that the cost does not exceed the usual price before the competition. Otherwise, it becomes prohibited gambling. It has become clear from a fatwa (definition) by a group of scholars that competitions involving exorbitant fees included in the message value are considered explicit gambling, because the excess over the usual value goes to the organizer, and the prize is paid from the contestants' money. This places the contestant in a position of either losing or winning, which is precisely the gambling (maysir (definition)) that Allah Almighty has forbidden, as He says: (O you who have believed, indeed intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone altars [to other than Allah ], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful). The Permanent Committee also issued a fatwa stating that it is not permissible to enter these competitions because they are a form of gambling and consuming people's wealth unlawfully, citing the hadith (definition): (There is no prize except for a competition in archery, camel racing, or horse racing). The fact that the prize is paid by a sponsoring company does not change it from being gambling, for gambling (maysir) is when one who enters it is either a winner or a loser.