Awarding Prizes by Traders to Customers

Question
What is the ruling on a trader giving gifts for purchasing from him several items or for spending a certain amount?
Answer
Our Sheikh Al-Othmani said in the jurisprudence of sales (2: 775): "What some traders practice is that they give prizes to their customers who buy a specific quantity from them, even in different transactions. These prizes may be given in proportion to the quantity for each one, or they may be given through a lottery. This is not considered an increase in the sale; because they are usually given after multiple transactions in different times and places, so there is no way to attribute it to a single sale. It is a promised gift from the seller to encourage people to buy goods from him, and the permissibility of taking it is conditioned on the seller not having increased the price of the goods because of these prizes; otherwise, it would become a form of gambling. Because what is above the price of the equivalent is demanded as a form of uncertainty, and the possibility that the buyer wins the prize. Likewise, if the price is the price of the equivalent, it is required that the buyer genuinely intends to purchase the goods and not buy them merely for the possibility of obtaining the prize; otherwise, it involves a suspicion of gambling," and Allah knows best.
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