Are competitions with prizes – such as shopping vouchers – permissible in areas other than what was mentioned in the Hadith, "There is no prize except for an arrow, a hoof, or a paw," and what has been appended to it, such as religious competitions, taking into account Fatwa No. 31906, which permits vouchers?

Competitions in Islam are of different types: permissible and forbidden. The default rule for competitions is prohibition, except for those explicitly permitted to involve compensation, such as: archery competitions (arrows), camel racing (hooves), and horse racing (hooves), because they aid in jihad. Some scholars have analogized to these, competitions in Islamic sciences and other beneficial sciences for the nation, like medicine and engineering, because seeking knowledge is a form of jihad.

Based on this, competitions involving eating, drinking, wrestling, calligraphy, and writing are not permissible to take compensation for, as they do not fall under the explicit textual permission, neither in wording nor in meaning. Forbidden competitions, such as dice and chess, are unlawful whether with or without compensation.

Competitions involving coupons and prizes linked to purchasing goods are permissible if the seller does not raise the price of the item because of the prize, and the buyer intends to purchase the item for their need, not solely for the prize. If the buyer intends to get the prize or the seller raises the price, the competition takes on the ruling of gambling and wagering.