The prizes of cultural competitions

Q 1: I hope Your Eminence can clarify the following issue for me. It was announced that there will be a competition for the Glorious Qur'an during Ramadan, all over the Arab Republic of Egypt. All praise is due to Allah Alone, I won the competition and the prize attached to the letter I sent you. I have not yet accepted the money, as I want to make sure that there is no Riba (usury/interest) in this prize, even though I need some books such as Al-Mughny and Al-Insaf and Fatwas of Shaykh Al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyyah). I have studied some books in Hanbaly Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) such as Al-Umdah and Al-Sharh Al-Mumti` `Ala Zad Al-Mustaqni`, by Shaykh Muhammad Al-Salih Al-`Uthaymin, but I stopped because the Shaykh himself stopped at volume (Part No. 11; Page No. 191) eight and has not yet issued volume nine. My husband is an employee whose salary does not leave any room for buying even an Islamic cassette tape, not to mention one of those precious books. I wish for Your Eminence to clarify this issue for me.

A: If this competition was held only to answer cultural questions without having to pay any money to subscribe, then receiving any prize for that is permissible. However, if you had to pay money to subscribe before or after the competition, this is considered a form of prohibited gambling, and it is not permissible for you to take the prize.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.