Is it permissible to take prizes offered in exchange for purchasing certain goods?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : In one case, I bought a can of paint that included, along with the paint, prize coupons. I won a car in this case, or won a sum of money.
The Shaykh : This requires detailed explanation, may Allah reward you. This is a prevalent issue in this era with many, many forms. It is necessary to look into these matters that are sold to the public, where lottery tickets are then placed in some of them. In fact, they did this once with Pepsi bottles. The answer in this case, or that case, or any other type of commercial matter, depends on knowing whether these prizes come from the merchant's pocket or from the pockets of the participants buying these materials. To clarify this, let us take the Pepsi bottle as a small example. Suppose the company that produced this drink was selling the bottle for seven and a half cents. When they decided to include a prize, they raised the price from seven and a half to eight, or even ten, and included a prize. This form means, my brothers, especially in the age of precise computer calculation, for example, if they sold a million bottles and increased the price by half a cent or two and a half cents on that million, what is the total? They use that total to buy, for example, a motorcycle, a bicycle, or something similar. So, they placed prizes equal to the difference they added. Thus, this difference does not come from the company's or factory's pocket, but from the pockets of those who bought these bottles. This is gambling, and it is not permissible. However, if the company itself, from its own pocket, from its own funds, keeps the price the same—seven and a half in the previous example—but includes this prize as a promotion and encouragement for customers to buy it, this is called a *ja'alah* (reward for a specific task) in the Shari'ah. One might say, look, the goal is there: if you cover the distance from here to there within a certain time, this is a *ja'alah*. But gambling on this basis is not permissible. So, the answer is clear. This bucket of paint that resulted in a car for you: do you want to know if the paint has been sold at a certain price for years and they just raised the price now, or is it the same price?
The questioner : ... ؟
The Shaykh : No, I am just giving an example so you understand the issue.
The questioner : ... ؟
The Shaykh : My brother, it does not matter to us if it is new; what matters to us is understanding when it is a lawful *ja'alah* and when it is forbidden. For example, if they have a system where they make a ten percent profit, and when they decided to include a prize, they raised the profit margin, saying the hundred becomes twelve and a half percent, or fifteen percent. Why? To increase the amount to buy the value of the prizes. This is gambling and is not permissible. I am not speaking about specific facts; I am illustrating for you when it is lawful and when it is forbidden.
And Glory is to You, O Allah, and praise. I testify that there is no deity but You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance.
The Shaykh : This requires detailed explanation, may Allah reward you. This is a prevalent issue in this era with many, many forms. It is necessary to look into these matters that are sold to the public, where lottery tickets are then placed in some of them. In fact, they did this once with Pepsi bottles. The answer in this case, or that case, or any other type of commercial matter, depends on knowing whether these prizes come from the merchant's pocket or from the pockets of the participants buying these materials. To clarify this, let us take the Pepsi bottle as a small example. Suppose the company that produced this drink was selling the bottle for seven and a half cents. When they decided to include a prize, they raised the price from seven and a half to eight, or even ten, and included a prize. This form means, my brothers, especially in the age of precise computer calculation, for example, if they sold a million bottles and increased the price by half a cent or two and a half cents on that million, what is the total? They use that total to buy, for example, a motorcycle, a bicycle, or something similar. So, they placed prizes equal to the difference they added. Thus, this difference does not come from the company's or factory's pocket, but from the pockets of those who bought these bottles. This is gambling, and it is not permissible. However, if the company itself, from its own pocket, from its own funds, keeps the price the same—seven and a half in the previous example—but includes this prize as a promotion and encouragement for customers to buy it, this is called a *ja'alah* (reward for a specific task) in the Shari'ah. One might say, look, the goal is there: if you cover the distance from here to there within a certain time, this is a *ja'alah*. But gambling on this basis is not permissible. So, the answer is clear. This bucket of paint that resulted in a car for you: do you want to know if the paint has been sold at a certain price for years and they just raised the price now, or is it the same price?
The questioner : ... ؟
The Shaykh : No, I am just giving an example so you understand the issue.
The questioner : ... ؟
The Shaykh : My brother, it does not matter to us if it is new; what matters to us is understanding when it is a lawful *ja'alah* and when it is forbidden. For example, if they have a system where they make a ten percent profit, and when they decided to include a prize, they raised the profit margin, saying the hundred becomes twelve and a half percent, or fifteen percent. Why? To increase the amount to buy the value of the prizes. This is gambling and is not permissible. I am not speaking about specific facts; I am illustrating for you when it is lawful and when it is forbidden.
And Glory is to You, O Allah, and praise. I testify that there is no deity but You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.