Are the food challenges prevalent among Muslim youth permissible, given that they involve imitating Westerners, extravagance, and wastefulness, taking into account the Hadith: "You will indeed follow the ways of those who came before you, handspan by handspan, and cubit by cubit, until even if they entered a lizard's hole, you would follow them," and the verse: "And eat and drink, but do not be extravagant; indeed, He does not like those who are extravagant"?

Imitating disbelievers in ugly habits such as extravagance and wastefulness, like competitive eating challenges, is blameworthy and forbidden. Allah the Almighty has condemned extravagance, wastefulness, and squandering of wealth, and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, has been made an excellent example. Extravagance is spending something on what is appropriate but in excess of need, while wastefulness is spending it on what is not appropriate. As for competitions involving challenges in eating and drinking, if they include prizes, they are forbidden, whether they are gambling if the عوض (compensation/prize) is from both parties, or squandering of wealth if it is from one party or an external source. This is because they fall under what is not permissible to offer compensation for, except in matters that aid in jihad, or what the Sharia has explicitly stated, such as competitions in horses, camels, archery, and memorizing the Quran. If the challenge is free of prizes, it remains an act of extravagance, wastefulness, squandering of wealth, and imitation of disbelievers.