Is it permissible or forbidden to use websites that offer services and prizes (mobile minutes) in exchange for accessing them for certain hours?
There is no objection to accessing the internet through the numbers provided by websites and benefiting from their services. There is also no objection to offering and accepting prizes and linking them to the duration of internet access. These prizes are considered a reduction in the access price. However, if the prizes exceed the access price, and the user's purpose is to obtain them, then it is impermissible, as this falls under maysir (gambling). But if the user's purpose is to benefit from the internet and its price does not exceed its market equivalent, then there is no objection to taking the prize, no matter how much it is.
The conditions for the permissibility of prizes, as mentioned by Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen, are: 1. That the price of the commodity is its true price, and the price has not been raised because of the prize. 2. That a person does not buy the commodity solely for the purpose of anticipating the prize.
The preponderant opinion is permissibility if the transaction is free from maysir.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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