It is also stipulated that the horse of the muhallil must be equal to their two horses, or his camel must be equal to their two camels, and his shooting must be equal to their shooting. If he is not equal, such as if their two horses are fast and his horse is slow, it is gambling, due to the aforementioned report and because his being surpassed is certain; thus, his existence is like his non-existence. However, if he is equal to them, it is permissible. If they all reach the finish line at the same time, each one secures their own stake, and the muhallil gets nothing, because there is no one who outstripped among them. Similarly, if the two competitors outstrip the muhallil, it is the same. If the muhallil outstrips alone, he secures both stakes by consensus. If one of the two competitors outstrips alone, he secures his own stake, takes the stake of his companion, and takes nothing from the muhallil. If one of the competitors and the muhallil outstrip, the winner secures his own property, and the stake of the one who was outstripped is divided equally between the winner and the muhallil. It makes no difference whether the competitors are two or more, so even if they were a hundred and among them is a muhallil who contributes nothing, it is permissible. Similarly, if the muhallil were a group, it is permissible, because there is no difference between two and a group. All of this is the school of al-Shafi'i.

Section: In racing with animals, it is a condition that the distance is defined and that there is a goal for the start and end of their running upon which they do not disagree, because the purpose is to know which of them is faster, and that cannot be known except by their equality at the goal. Also, one of them might be slow at the beginning of his run and fast at its end, or the opposite, so a goal is needed that encompasses both of his states. Among horses, some are more enduring, and the adult horse (qarih) is more enduring than others. Ibn Umar narrated that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) held a race between horses and favored the adult horses in terms of the goal. Reported by Abu Dawud. He held a race between the trained (mudmarah) horses from al-Hafya' to Thaniyyat al-Wada', which is six or seven miles, and between those that were not trained from the Thaniyyah to the Mosque of Banu Zurayq, which is a mile or thereabout. If they race without a goal to see which of them stops first, it is not permissible, because this leads to neither of them stopping until their horse is exhausted, and it becomes impossible to bear witness to who outstripped. In a race, it is a condition to release the two horses or the two camels at once; if one of them is released before the other to see whether the other will catch up or not, this is not permissible in a race involving compensation (iwad), because he might not catch up despite being faster due to the distance between them. There should be someone at the start of the distance to witness their release and arrange them, and at the goal, someone to verify which of them outstripped to prevent disagreement. In horses, outstripping is achieved by the head if the necks are equal. If they differ in the length of the neck, or if this is in camels, outstripping is considered by the shoulder, because taking the head into account is impossible; for the long-necked one might have his head outstrip due to the length of his neck, not the speed of his running. In camels, some raise their heads and some stretch their necks, so their head might outstrip due to the stretching of the neck, not because they outstripped. Therefore, we consider the shoulder. If the head of the short-necked one outstrips, then he is the one who outstripped, because it is necessary that he is the one who outstripped. If the long-necked one outstrips by more than the difference in neck length, he has outstripped; if by the same amount, he has not outstripped; and if by less, the other one is the winner. All of this is the view of al-Shafi'i. Al-Thawri said: If one of them outstrips by an ear, he is the winner. This is not correct, because one of them might raise his head while the other stretches his neck, so he outstrips by his ear due to that, not due to being faster. If they stipulate outstripping by a known number of feet, such as three or more or less, it is not valid. Some of the followers of al-Shafi'i said: It is valid, and they estimate the distance, as in shooting. This is not correct because this cannot be precisely determined, and the horses do not stop at the goal in a way that the space between them can be measured. Al-Daraqutni reported with his chain of narration from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said to Ali: 'I have assigned this race to you among the people.' So Ali went out and called Suraqah ibn Malik and said: 'O Suraqah, I have assigned to you what the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) placed upon my neck of this race, so you take it on your neck. When you reach the Mitan'—Abu Abd al-Rahman said: 'The Mitan is the one who releases them.'