Is It Permissible for Me to Offer a Raffle to My Customers?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I run a business selling luxury goods and am considering offering a raffle where everyone wins either a high-value prize or a guaranteed item, like a luxury wallet. Is this permissible?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
It will only be permissible to offer out a raffle if it is given freely or if anybody who walks through the door can receive one without having to pay for it.
Prohibited Offering of Raffle
Offering a raffle where participants must pay to enter—whether through entrance fees, ticket purchases, or any other means—is not permissible. This is because the total amount of money collected will be distributed among the winners whose names are drawn, which constitutes clear gambling. If a person’s name is not drawn, they end up losing their money without receiving anything in return.
Abdullah Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) defined gambling in the following words: “The risk of losing on both sides or putting something at stake from both sides (mukhatara) is gambling.” [Jassas, Ahkam al-Quran]
The great Hanafi jurist (faqih), Allama Ibn ‘Abidin (Allah have mercy on him), defines gambling in the following words:
“Gambling (qimar) is from the word qamar, that which increases at times and decreases at other times. It has been given the name al-Qimar due to the possibility that each one of the gamblers may lose his wealth to his counterpart, and it is also possible that one may gain from the wealth of the other.”
[Ibn ‘Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. In sha Allah, you will receive guidance and direction.
Related
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I pray this helps answer your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
