Book of Racing and Archery (al-Sabq wa al-Ramy)
Racing is permissible by the Sunnah and the consensus (ijma'). As for the Sunnah, Ibn 'Umar narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) held a race between trained horses (al-mudmarah) (1) from al-Hafya' to Thaniyyat al-Wada', and between those that were not trained from Thaniyyat al-Wada' to the mosque of the Banu Zurayq. Muttafaq 'alayh (agreed upon) (2). Musa ibn 'Uqba said: From al-Hafya' to Thaniyyat al-Wada' is six or seven miles. Sufyan said: From the Thaniyya to the mosque of the Banu Zurayq is a mile or thereabouts. The Muslims have reached a consensus on the permissibility of racing in general. Racing is of two types: racing without a wager, and racing with a wager. As for racing without a wager, it is permissible absolutely, without being restricted to anything specific, such as racing on foot, with ships, birds, mules, donkeys (3), elephants, throwing spears (al-mazariq) (4), wrestling (5), or lifting stones to identify (6) the strongest, and other such things; because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
(1) Al-Mudmarah: Those whose fodder has been reduced, which have been placed in a covered shelter and blanketed inside it so that they sweat and their sweat dries, thereby lightening their flesh and strengthening them for running.
(2) Recorded by al-Bukhari, in: Chapter on whether it is said: The mosque of the tribe of so-and-so?, from the Book of Prayer; in: Chapter on training horses for racing... from the Book of Jihad; and in: Chapter on what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) mentioned and encouraged regarding the consensus of the scholars... from the Book of Adherence (al-I'tisam). Sahih al-Bukhari 1/114, 4/38, 9/129. And Muslim, in: Chapter on racing between horses and their training, from the Book of Leadership. Sahih Muslim 3/1491. It was also recorded by al-Tirmidhi, in: Chapter on what has been narrated regarding wagering and racing, from the chapters on Jihad. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 7/189, 190. Al-Nasa'i, in: Chapter on the distance of the race for those that were not trained, and Chapter on training horses for racing, from the Book of Jihad. Al-Mujtaba 6/187, 188. Ibn Majah, in: Chapter on racing and wagering, from the Book of Jihad. Sunan Ibn Majah 2/960. Al-Darimi, in: Chapter on racing, from the Book of Jihad. Sunan al-Darimi 2/212. And Imam Malik, in: Chapter on what has been narrated regarding horses and racing between them... from the Book of Jihad. Al-Muwatta 2/467, 468.
(3) In M: "al-hamir" (donkeys).
(4) Al-Mazariq: Short spears.
(5) In M: "Wrestling is permissible."
(6) In B: "to know".
