Is it permissible to offer prizes in competitions for memorizing the Qur'an and hadith?

Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner asks: Is it permissible to offer prizes for a competition in memorizing the Qur'an and hadith? And is it permissible to attend these gatherings where these prizes are distributed and to encourage the people involved?

Answer:
Yes, there is nothing wrong with that, because this is an encouragement to memorize the Book of Allah, to learn it, and to teach it, and it falls under jihad in the path of Allah. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) says that this falls under jihad; it falls under jihad. Just as it is permissible to take prizes for a horse, a mule, or a donkey, because these are tools of jihad, so too is it permissible to take prizes for seeking knowledge and jurisprudence, because seeking knowledge is part of jihad in the path of Allah. Yes. May Allah reward you.