One question resolves most of these: did you pay anything for the chance? A genuinely free draw - enter your name, no purchase, no fee, no premium-rate message - is a gift from the organiser, and gifts are permissible however they are allocated. Paying an entry fee for a chance at a prize is gambling: you stake money on an uncertain outcome, and if you lose your stake is gone. Raffle tickets and paid prize competitions fall here, including ones run for charity, because a good cause does not change the structure of the transaction. The middle case is where most confusion sits. Buying a product you genuinely wanted, which happens to include a draw entry, is generally permissible - you paid for the product and received the entry as a bonus. It becomes problematic when you buy something you did not want, or buy more than you needed, because the entry was the real purpose.
Current direction: Needs Scholar Review. This page needs a qualified scholar to verify the exact ruling before a reader relies on it.
Educational guidance only, not a fatwa. Consult a qualified scholar for your specific case. Page created August 26, 2026.
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Most scholars say no. The structure is unchanged: you pay, chance decides, you may receive nothing. The good cause changes where the money goes, not what you did to give it. The usual advice is to donate directly instead - the charity receives more, and the donation carries the reward of sadaqah, which a wager does not.
Generally yes. You paid for the product, received the product, and the entry was a bonus on a purchase you would have made anyway - nothing extra was staked on chance. It becomes problematic if you bought something you did not want, bought several to improve your odds, or paid above the normal price with the premium funding the prize. The test is whether you would have bought it at that price with no draw attached.
Yes. Nothing was staked, so nothing was risked, and the gambling analysis does not engage - the organiser is giving something away and choosing a recipient by lot. Two things to watch: entry by premium-rate call or SMS is not actually free, since the charge functions as an entry fee, and where a promotion offers a free postal route alongside a purchase route, using the free route keeps you in this category.
More reaches the cause and it counts as sadaqah
Giving the ticket price directly to the organisation means the full amount reaches the cause rather than part funding a prize, and the giving carries the reward of charity, which a wager does not.
If an organisation you support runs raffles, suggesting an auction or a donor gift for everyone is a constructive alternative.
Evidence used to explain the general principle. These references do not replace personal scholar review.
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