What is the ruling on academic competitions in which prizes (wagers) are given? And is it permissible to cite the competition of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) as evidence for this?

The questioner: My teacher, regarding the term "competition" in the context of wagering on matters of knowledge, what is the view of Ibn al-Qayyim and his Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on them) in their statement that it is permissible?

The Shaykh: Pardon me, what do you mean by their statement that it is permissible?

The questioner: Regarding the permissibility of wagering on matters of knowledge, as Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah transmitted from his Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah. The second issue is as follows: A book containing questions is published and sold to people, and prizes are given to the best or to the Muslims among them. This scenario comes in two cases: the first case is if the prizes come from an external source, and the second case is if the prizes come from this money, from the surplus of the cost of printing the book. And if the prizes come from an external source, what do they do with the price of the booklets they took, which may have a surplus over the cost of those booklets?

The Shaykh: They took it from whom, from the donors?

The questioner: From the participants.

The Shaykh: From the participants.

The questioner: The amount that exceeds the cost of the competition.

The Shaykh: Pardon me, I understood that you presented two scenarios.

The questioner: Yes, each one is in a different case.

The Shaykh: What is the second scenario?

The questioner: I am asking another question now, which is an issue where, for example, I ask you a question, and if you answer it, you get such-and-such. If you answer it, for example, I say I will ask you another question. This happens in some institutions, schools, and institutes. If you answer the second question, you lose the first prize.

The Shaykh: If you answer or if you do not answer?

The questioner: If you answer, you get another prize.

The Shaykh: If you answer the first one, you get a prize, and if you do not answer the second one, the first one is lost, and if you answer it, it is doubled, and so on?

The questioner: Yes ... .

The questioner: As for incentive prizes, I ask about some scenarios in them. The first scenario is that a specific amount is given to the diligent person via a card, and a draw is held, so whoever has that number takes the prize. The second scenario is that they give, with the same item, something extra...

The Shaykh: Yes, regarding the view of Ibn Taymiyyah, I do not actually have it at my disposal. Do you have his wording at your disposal, even if only in meaning?

The questioner: Ibn al-Qayyim says in *Al-Farasiyyah*, page eighteen: "We see the permissibility of wagering on matters of knowledge, and this is how the Shaykh al-Islam used to issue fatwas."

The Shaykh: Meaning, he does not bring evidence or anything?

The questioner: He does not elaborate, and this is the relied-upon position among the Hanbalis...

The Shaykh: Yes, I believe that the wagering mentioned in the Shari'ah is first limited to three things, and with the tool of restriction that prevents expanding it. So did Ibn al-Qayyim, even if transmitted from Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, bring evidence that justifies that permissibility? You said that he mentioned the claim, but did not pair it with evidence, contrary to his custom. So I say we do not adopt this view at all, even if it came from the two Shaykhs al-Islam, Ibn al-Qayyim and Ibn Taymiyyah. This is due to his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: There is no racing except in the wager, so wagering is not permissible except in these three matters. And the scholars said, in explaining the legal wisdom of what is originally forbidden, because it is gambling, that it legislates for the Muslim to be prepared to meet the enemies of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). In this text, which is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), a Qur'anic text is realized in an exciting and appealing style. The Qur'anic text, as you know, is the saying of Allah the Exalted:

The questioner: He is my teacher.The Shaykh : Ibn al-Qayyim, in *Al-Farasiyyah*, addressed at the beginning... the competition in academic issues, affirming that the goal of debating the enemies with argument, and debating them with the sword and force, is... then he said, "And are the people..." then he digressed into the permissibility.

The Shaykh: Beautiful, now you have clarified something my soul was eager to hear before. However, that does not change my previous point of view. As for this thing you clarified, it negates these wagers that take place today, because they have absolutely no connection to this thing you last pointed to from the words of Ibn al-Qayyim. Because these people will not debate the people of disbelief and misguidance; rather, they are not prepared to debate even a small child from the people of misguidance. Instead, this will be dominated by immediate material benefit.

The questioner: Abu Bakr's wager with the polytheists regarding the victory of the Romans, is this...The Shaykh : Ibn al-Qayyim... in refuting those who said by abrogation and affirmed that this is a matter... I do not know...

The Shaykh: No, this is certainly correct, but where is this, my brother, from the issue you are asking about now?

The questioner: If we wanted to derive a jurisprudential ruling from this action, what would we say?

The Shaykh : We say that we do not go beyond this text, because, as the jurists of the Hanafi school say in some matters, this is a specific case with no general application. So, if this specific case were to recur exactly as it was, it would be valid, because it was not abrogated, as is reported from Ibn al-Qayyim. I have come across this, but it does not carry a general indication like any other general text of the Shari'ah, under which we might include other parts that are not the same as the first part that occurred in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), such as the incident of Abu Bakr. Therefore, we stop at this and do not add to it, especially if the matter leads to a contradiction of what Abu Bakr intended. We say, "Masha'Allah, la quwwata illa billah, I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from every devil, poisoner, and evil eye, Blessed is Allah, the best of creators." So, we have absolutely no doubt about the difference between Abu Bakr's intention in that incident and the intention of those participating in these betting matches. I believe this is a point of departure and agreement, and it shows you the difference between that incident and other incidents that might be attached to it. There is a vast difference between what is attached and what it is attached to. If I return to the hadith, this is a text at which we must stop, and we do not add to it except within the limits of what has come as a specific text, like what I mentioned earlier regarding the incident of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq. And I, in fact, do not encourage these rewards that are currently being set up in the name of encouraging the pursuit of knowledge, because I feel that this method will imprint on students of knowledge that their pursuit of knowledge is not, if I may use the term, reserved for the sake of knowledge. I say "reserved" because this expression might be shared by others from other religions. So, if we say that this method of encouraging people to seek knowledge through these rewards leads to a person not making an effort to give a sermon or a word without hoping for an immediate reward behind it, this undoubtedly contradicts the principles of scholarly methodology, which are not hidden from those present. Among these is the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He): And if it is established that His saying (peace and blessings be upon him) although he said it on a known occasion, meaning if one ends up in a state of faith, he is successful, and if one ends up in a state of disbelief, he is perishing, but this phrase can be considered a general principle in all matters. So, we must look at the outcome of this method, which has now become a new, exciting, and attractive method for people who do not find in themselves what motivates them to seek knowledge for the sake of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). They are driven to seek knowledge in exchange for what? An immediate reward. What will be the outcome of these methods? Will we produce a nation that works for the sake of Allah, seeking knowledge for the sake of Allah, or for the sake of the dirham and the dinar? Here, in addition to my previous deduction from the hadith mentioned earlier, "Deeds are judged by their endings," I now recall a ruling that appeared in the Gospel, which our Shari'ah does not prevent us from citing and taking guidance from. Yes, and that is when 'Isa (peace be upon him) once addressed the disciples, admonishing and reminding them. Among what he reminded them of was that after him would come "Al-Masih al-Muntazar," as they express it, who is Ahmad Muhammad (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him), the truthful prophet. And there would be false prophets before him. They asked him how to distinguish the truthful from the liar. The answer of the wise one was, "By their fruits you shall know them," "By their fruits you shall know them." And I, in fact, have benefited from this Gospel wisdom in many jurisprudential issues where the views of scholars differ, both in the past and in the present. When I find two opinions on one issue and do not find, as we do, praise be to Allah, in most issues, a stronger opinion from the Book and the Sunnah, I then look at the outcome of one of the two opinions. If the outcome is bad, I apply the opposing opinion: "By their fruits you shall know them." I give you an example, and although, praise be to Allah, we have found in the Sunnah what supports the application of this Gospel wisdom, "By their fruits you shall know them," people are not paying attention to this wisdom in this issue I will use as an example. Today, in our time, we hardly enter a mosque, especially if it is one of the public mosques whose doors, if Allah wills, are not closed after the people finish the first congregational prayer, so the doors of the mosque remain open until the time of the next prayer. We find, or perhaps it is more correct to say we used to find, because we now hear that it is forbidden to remain in the mosque with the doors open, except for the duration of the first prayer.