[Q 123] Raffle Competitions and Islamic Ruling

Question

Is it permissible to participate in a raffle competition?

Example: 1000 people enter a competition and pay £25 per ticket. One person’s ticket is chosen at random and they win the prize.

بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم

الجواب بعون الملک الوهاب اللهم هداية الحق والصواب

Answer

If the situation is such that the money of the rest of the people who did not win the prize will be wasted, then this is impermissible and gambling. Because each person puts their money at risk in the hope of winning a prize. This is called gambling.

Gambling has been strongly condemned in the Blessed Hadiths. As it is stated in Al-Mu’jam Al-Kabeer:

من لعب بالمیسر، ثم قام یصلی فمثلہ کمثل الذی یتوضأ بالقیح ودم الخنزیر ، فتقول اللہ یقبل لہ صلاۃ

Translation:

“Whoever plays with gambling, and then stands up for prayer, his similarity is like one who performs ablution with pus and blood of pigs, and you will say: Will Allah accept his prayer?” (Meaning, just as the prayer of such person would not be accepted, similarly the prayer of one who gambles will not be accepted).

المعجم الکبیر للطبرانی،مسند من یعرف بالکنی، جلد 22، صفحه 292، مطبوعہ القاهرة

Answered by: Tabaruk Madani (AskMufti Scholar)

Verified by: Mufti Sajid Attari

Translated by: Shaheer Attari