The Ruling on Participating in Free Call Contests
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
A questioner says: There is a program that holds beneficial contests. They call you for free, then ask you a question. If you answer with the correct answer, you receive a prize from them. If the answer is not correct, you do not lose anything. However, the owner of the program prepared for the contest receives a sum of money from a telecommunications company based on the number of callers. Is it permissible to participate in this contest?
Answer:
This is not permissible, and it is a form of gambling. Their intention is to take the cost of the call; the call is not free. They take a fee from the caller, and the caller gathers sums from several individuals in hope of winning this prize. This is a matter that is not permissible, and it is consuming wealth unjustly. Yes.
A questioner says: There is a program that holds beneficial contests. They call you for free, then ask you a question. If you answer with the correct answer, you receive a prize from them. If the answer is not correct, you do not lose anything. However, the owner of the program prepared for the contest receives a sum of money from a telecommunications company based on the number of callers. Is it permissible to participate in this contest?
Answer:
This is not permissible, and it is a form of gambling. Their intention is to take the cost of the call; the call is not free. They take a fee from the caller, and the caller gathers sums from several individuals in hope of winning this prize. This is a matter that is not permissible, and it is consuming wealth unjustly. Yes.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/018 — archive.org (5:44)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.