Distribution of limited resources - Islamic edition

January 29, 2020 8:04 AM

I have N desirable things and N*3 people attending an event. My first thought was to have attendees draw lots or play Rock Paper Scissors to select recipients. What should I do that will not create awkwardness for /offend people prohibited from gambling? What is the traditional solution? What is the word for this type of distribution?

The things are not rare, all attendees have roughly the same resources, and all could buy one if they chose.

Is it different if there is an easy way for “winners” to donate their item to non attendees with less resources who will use the item?

Based on google, I’m tempted to have an archery contest as a narrow exception to competition and prizes.

posted by unknown knowns to Religion & Philosophy (16 answers total)

Is "first come, first served" feasible?
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:06 AM on January 29, 2020

Surely those who feel themselves prohibited could just abstain from the competition or raffle?
posted by Think_Long at 8:09 AM on January 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

Is it different if there is an easy way for “winners” to donate their item to non attendees with less resources who will use the item?

This is a wonderful idea! Plus, rather than gambling, you could have groups of three people discuss/decide whom to donate the item to. Start by warning people ahead of the event so that they can think/research if needed, then come up with a collaborative way for people to decide. It could be a great activity.
posted by amtho at 8:12 AM on January 29, 2020

This depends on the physical nature of the item and the layout of the event, but if it's something like a dinner or a talk, where people are seated, I've seen gifts being distributed to some-but-not-all attendees by being attached to the underside of selected seats -- at some point you tell people to feel under their seat for an item. I think this feels less like gambling than something where the individual is doing something active.
posted by LizardBreath at 8:37 AM on January 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Not what you're asking, but I'm Muslim myself and I don't know of any Muslims who would object to drawing lots or rock paper scissors on religious grounds.

I can't speak for all one billion of us but unless you're inviting true fundamentalists perhaps you're worrying for no reason? Just a thought.
posted by shaademaan at 9:03 AM on January 29, 2020 [13 favorites]

Do the people get name badges? You could randomly label/sticker those ahead of time. Like if you have badge holders, you could sticker them on the back when they're still empty, then shuffle them up before the names go in. Or a third of the available write-on labels could be ovals instead of rectangles, if that's more your budget.
posted by teremala at 10:12 AM on January 29, 2020

Have a basket of Things at the entrance, or if there is a spot where they are registering, ask if they’d like one there. People who want them will take them; people who don’t will pass, people who get there later and ask will find that you ran out. I’ll bet you end up with a few left over, if it’s a typical kind of event-based object.
posted by tchemgrrl at 10:37 AM on January 29, 2020 [3 favorites]

Buy N * (2/3) cheap extra items to add to the pot so everybody gets a gift.
Then allocate the gifts at random, e.g. by a lucky dip.
It's not gambling if you don't pay to play.
posted by w0mbat at 11:19 AM on January 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

Door Prize.

hand out numbered tickets to all attendees, and at the end, select tickets and distribute the items to those with matching numbers.
posted by bonofasitch at 11:52 AM on January 29, 2020

Response by poster: Folks, I am not interested in how to better run a lottery. I was looking for how to avoid something that an observant Muslim would be uncomfortable with. Comments from Muslims, examples from Muslim countries and scholars are most useful. Citations are welcome because I am curious.
posted by unknown knowns at 12:40 PM on January 29, 2020

Betting on horses, camels and archery are all halal.
posted by parmanparman at 12:46 PM on January 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

From the outside, this looks like an interesting point of Islamic law. If the participants did not pay to attend, then there are not winners and losers, which are required for gambling (i.e., no one is losing any money by buying a ticket and then not winning). But if they are paying, then there are winners and losers and this would be gambling and haram. See here (esp. the rules on prize draws in shopping centers). However, I'm sure there's a very sophisticated body of reasoning around this, so I'm merely and with all humility suggesting this as a starting point for your consideration!
posted by praemunire at 12:50 PM on January 29, 2020

Muslim here. I'm sure the fiqh of gambling is complicated, as is every other topic of Islamic law, but honestly, none of us think about it that hard. We are okay with Rock Paper Scissors. We also like trivia. :)
posted by spicytunaroll at 1:51 PM on January 29, 2020 [3 favorites]

I'm Muslim and wouldn't consider it gambling unless the point of the event was that there was a 1/3 chance of getting this item.

If this is an event with unassigned seating I would suggest having a token of some kind attached to the bottom of the share. If there's a token under your chair you can turn it in for the prize. You can also give the token to anyone else so that they could claim the prize instead.

If people are writing their own nametags you could have 3 different coloured borders for the nametags and then later announce that everyone with a blue nametag (for example) wins a prize.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 3:44 PM on January 29, 2020 [3 favorites]

Anecdata as a Muslim from a Muslim-majority country: yo, we love lucky draws. That's very kind of you to worry if this is gambling, and tbh if you've found a conservative, I wouldn't be surprised at what lines they've announced is uncrossable, but for a low-stakes, low-stress, corporate or social event, no one would even think twice tbh.
posted by cendawanita at 8:50 PM on January 29, 2020 [4 favorites]

Muslim from Muslim-majority country here. I highly, highly doubt you will have any objections to Rock, Paper, Scissors! We played that as children in my conservative school. Just another data point for you.
posted by unicorn chaser at 5:53 AM on January 30, 2020 [1 favorite]