The ruling on prizes involving a draw at exhibitions
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His Eminence the Shaykh: In some regions, a season for goods is sometimes held, which may not be available in all areas, and these goods are discounted. So a person, for example, goes to this exhibition knowing nothing about it.Then he says: If you desire a good, meaning you find it cheap, you buy it. Then you buy a good from another of these shops, and the shop owner gives you a card with a number that is drawn on the last days of the exhibition for one of the prizes. What is the ruling on this prize?The Shaykh: I did not understand just now.Meaning: People are displaying goods?The questioner: Yes, at the exhibition.
The Shaykh: At a lower price?The questioner: Yes, their value is reduced, like appliances.
The Shaykh: And then what do they say?The questioner: A person, for example, goes to buy or goes to this exhibition with the intention of looking.
The Shaykh: And perhaps he buys?The questioner: Yes, perhaps, for example, he finds a discounted good and buys it, and the shop owner gives him a card.
The Shaykh: The exhibition owner.
The questioner: The exhibition owner gives him a card with a draw number for a specific prize on the last days of the exhibition, for example.
The Shaykh: And what does the draw mean?The questioner himself: It means: they collect all these numbers and cards, then they draw two or three numbers, and the owner of the number wins a car or an appliance or something else.
The Shaykh: But are these goods sold for more than the market price, the same as the market, or less than the market?The questioner: No, they may be cheaper.
The Shaykh: I see no harm in it; because this buyer is now either safe or a winner. He is not guaranteed to get the prize, I mean, it does not harm him if he is deprived of the prize, and he benefits if the prize is his. So there is no harm in this.
The questioner: What is the ruling on the prize?The Shaykh: The prize is lawful; because he did not lose anything on it. Did he lose anything?The questioner: No.
The Shaykh: Never.
He bought the good at its price or less.
The questioner: But if the shop owner knows that if you buy the good from him, he will give you this number?The Shaykh: There is no problem. The point is that the shop owner did not raise the price, and that you, the buyer, bought for the sake of the good, not for the sake of the competition. Suppose, for example, he said: whoever buys this pen for five riyals, and its value is five riyals, then enters the prize competition. Now, if the prize is his, he is a winner, and if it is not, he is safe and has not lost anything, so there is no harm.
The Shaykh: At a lower price?The questioner: Yes, their value is reduced, like appliances.
The Shaykh: And then what do they say?The questioner: A person, for example, goes to buy or goes to this exhibition with the intention of looking.
The Shaykh: And perhaps he buys?The questioner: Yes, perhaps, for example, he finds a discounted good and buys it, and the shop owner gives him a card.
The Shaykh: The exhibition owner.
The questioner: The exhibition owner gives him a card with a draw number for a specific prize on the last days of the exhibition, for example.
The Shaykh: And what does the draw mean?The questioner himself: It means: they collect all these numbers and cards, then they draw two or three numbers, and the owner of the number wins a car or an appliance or something else.
The Shaykh: But are these goods sold for more than the market price, the same as the market, or less than the market?The questioner: No, they may be cheaper.
The Shaykh: I see no harm in it; because this buyer is now either safe or a winner. He is not guaranteed to get the prize, I mean, it does not harm him if he is deprived of the prize, and he benefits if the prize is his. So there is no harm in this.
The questioner: What is the ruling on the prize?The Shaykh: The prize is lawful; because he did not lose anything on it. Did he lose anything?The questioner: No.
The Shaykh: Never.
He bought the good at its price or less.
The questioner: But if the shop owner knows that if you buy the good from him, he will give you this number?The Shaykh: There is no problem. The point is that the shop owner did not raise the price, and that you, the buyer, bought for the sake of the good, not for the sake of the competition. Suppose, for example, he said: whoever buys this pen for five riyals, and its value is five riyals, then enters the prize competition. Now, if the prize is his, he is a winner, and if it is not, he is safe and has not lost anything, so there is no harm.