What is the ruling on presenting a cup as a prize in competitions?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Your Eminence, some schools hold competitions, and the prize for these competitions is a cup. What is the ruling on the cup?
The Shaykh : A cup of what?
The questioner : A metal cup, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Is it ordinary?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Huh?
The questioner : A cup, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : What kind of cup is this? Glass? Clay?
The questioner : No, it is a metal cup, Shaykh. Sometimes it is gold, but nowadays all schools have metal cups.
The Shaykh : There is nothing wrong with this, but why not make it something useful?
Because this cup could be a plastic cup, which is better than it. Why not give something useful, like a watch or a pen? That would be better.
The questioner : So it can be placed in the classroom.
The Shaykh : I do not object. I say: originally, this cup appears to have been taken from non-Muslims. And I understand that this cup is not the kind used for drinking!
The questioner : It is not used for eating or drinking.
The Shaykh : It is not used and is not suitable, is it just an ornament?
The questioner : An ornament!
The Shaykh : An ornament, yes. Rather, they should give something other than a cup.
The questioner : Is it not permissible?
The Shaykh : I do not say it is not permissible; prohibition is difficult to establish, but I see that they should give something that benefits him.
The Shaykh : A cup of what?
The questioner : A metal cup, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Is it ordinary?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Huh?
The questioner : A cup, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : What kind of cup is this? Glass? Clay?
The questioner : No, it is a metal cup, Shaykh. Sometimes it is gold, but nowadays all schools have metal cups.
The Shaykh : There is nothing wrong with this, but why not make it something useful?
Because this cup could be a plastic cup, which is better than it. Why not give something useful, like a watch or a pen? That would be better.
The questioner : So it can be placed in the classroom.
The Shaykh : I do not object. I say: originally, this cup appears to have been taken from non-Muslims. And I understand that this cup is not the kind used for drinking!
The questioner : It is not used for eating or drinking.
The Shaykh : It is not used and is not suitable, is it just an ornament?
The questioner : An ornament!
The Shaykh : An ornament, yes. Rather, they should give something other than a cup.
The questioner : Is it not permissible?
The Shaykh : I do not say it is not permissible; prohibition is difficult to establish, but I see that they should give something that benefits him.