The Ruling on Competitions in Chemical Research and the Qur'an Prize

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: What is the ruling on competitions in chemical research? And is competition permissible only in the Qur'an and not in other things?

Answer:
The default ruling for competitions is that they are permissible in what is mentioned in the hadith: Competitions in horses, competitions in camels, with the intention of jihad. It is not for the sake of money or play, but with the intention of jihad, training for jihad on them, or archery, which is shooting. If the intention is jihad in this and training for jihad.
So the race is valid. As for taking this as a means of earning, without intending jihad, but only intending the prize, this is not permissible; it falls under gambling.
And Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) held that learning the Qur'an and the prize for memorizing and reciting the Qur'an is equated with jihad in the path of Allah. So it is permissible to take the prize for the Qur'an and Qur'anic competitions, because this is part of jihad, because seeking knowledge is part of jihad in the path of Allah. He said so. Allah knows best. Yes.