What is the ruling on trading in national sukuk?

National Bonds, headquartered in Dubai, is a private joint-stock company that sells bonds for 10 dirhams each, with a minimum purchase of 100 dirhams. Each bond carries a serial number that qualifies it for a monthly draw for prizes ranging from 100 dirhams to one million dirhams.

Subscription to these bonds is prohibited due to several concerns: 1. If the company deals in haraam (unlawful) activities or guarantees the capital for the investor (mudarib), either of these is sufficient for prohibition. 2. The organizers of the bonds claim that the relationship is a Mudarabah (definition) contract and that the prizes are distributed from the company's share of the profits. However, the company's website focuses on the prizes and encourages people to subscribe out of greed for them, neglecting details of the Mudarabah and projects. This makes the primary intention behind the bonds the desire for the prize, which is considered gambling (qimar). 3. Even if the subscriber does not intend to win the prize, the prizes are considered a gift from the Mudarib (the company) to the capital owner (the bondholder). Some scholars have prohibited the Mudarib's gift to the capital owner, as stated in Hashiyat ad-Dusuqi, out of fear of perpetuating the Mudarib's work and encouraging subscribers.

Based on the above, it is not permissible to subscribe to these bonds unless they are based on a genuine Mudarabah and these prizes are abolished, in addition to ensuring that there is no dealing in haraam activities and no guarantee of capital.