“Allah did not create man so that he could have fun. The aim of creation was for mankind to be put to the test through hardship and prayer. An Islamic regime must be serious in every field. There are no jokes in Islam. There is no humor in Islam. There is no fun in Islam. There can be no fun and joy in whatever is serious.” — Ayatollah Khomeini
Sharia in action in Sudan: “Sudanese cleric slams TV prize draws as sacrilegious,” from the Sudan Tribune, October 23 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
October 23, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – A Sudanese cleric who is also a member of the parliament issued a Fatwa (religious ruling) by which he declared that prizes offered by telecommunications companies to its subscribers through a daily TV draw are forbidden by Islam.
A number of Sudanese telecom companies including Zain, Sudani and MTN have been conducting these draws over the last two months to encourage its subscribers to register their personal details associated with the SIM cards they own.
The prizes offered include cash, gold coins and cars.
But hardliner cleric Dafalla Hassab al-Rasool said in press statements today that subscribers who received prizes through these draws should seek to get rid of it and donate them to mosques or to the poor and needy.
He noted that the Islamic Fiqh Council Fatwa in this regard prompted the telecommunication ministry to order these companies to scrap these programs.
MP al-Rasool said that Sudan’s highest religious authority determined that these draws are marred by questionable practices.
He stressed that telecom companies should attract customers by improving the quality of their services and prices and not through “gambling”.
“These cars and other [prizes] are funded by the prices of these SIM cards purchased but the award goes to one person only and this is gambling,” he said.