What is the ruling of Sharia on a competition in which CDs containing Islamic books are sold, and questions are posed from these same books, with gifts of office software programs for the buyer, where the initial financier of the competition receives only advertising and promotional rights in return for their funding, and then a public competition is held on a satellite channel with questions from the same books and prizes from an official sponsor in exchange for advertising rights? Is it permissible or forbidden, and how can any impermissibility be overcome?

There is no objection to advertising and promoting for the financier in exchange for their funding, nor to including supplementary programs as a known gift with the publication, as this is akin to a reduction in its price. As for organizing a competition related to the publication, with the aim of increasing religious understanding, general permissible knowledge, or sharpening intelligence, there is no objection to it if the prizes are provided by a donor who does not seek financial return. However, if the prize provider intends it as a commercial operation, then the competition becomes a form of gambling, because participation requires purchasing the publication, and this may include those who have no need for the publication except for the competition, thus fulfilling the definition of gambling.