Islamic Ruling on the Fruit Cake and Coin Tradition

Source: Fatawa of the Scholars of Hadith, Volume 09

❖ Question:​

What is the Islamic ruling regarding the practice in some factories of placing a coin inside a fruit cake and distributing it among employees at the start of the Gregorian year? Is it permissible for the individual who finds the coin and receives a monetary prize to accept it?

❖ Answer:​

The described practice of cutting a fruit cake to extract a coin as a symbol of good luck for the new year is an act that stems from superstitious beliefs and mimics pre-Islamic customs (Tamimah). In Islamic law, such acts are forbidden and impermissible.

❖ Prohibition of Tamimah:​

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ condemned the use of tamimah and said:
"Whoever hangs a tamimah, may Allah not fulfill his need; and whoever wears a seashell, may Allah not give him peace."
(Musnad Ahmad: 4/154)

The Prophet ﷺ also said:
"Whoever hangs a tamimah has committed shirk."
(Musnad Ahmad: 4/156)

These Hadiths clearly indicate that any practice rooted in non-Islamic beliefs, where good fortune is sought from sources other than Allah, falls under the category of shirk (polytheism).

❖ A Permissible Alternative:​

If the factory management wishes to distribute money or prizes purely as a gift or through a lottery system, without any association to superstitions or beliefs of good fortune, then there is no harm in doing so. The condition is that the distribution must be free from any element of prohibited beliefs or practices.

❖ Summary:​

The practice of placing a coin in a fruit cake as a symbol of good luck is unlawful and un-Islamic, as it resembles the prohibited act of tamimah. However, if the factory wishes to distribute money or prizes through a neutral and permissible method, such as a simple lottery, without linking it to superstitions or non-Islamic customs, then it is allowed, provided it does not contradict any Islamic rulings.