the winner who brought forth [the wager] wins it and possesses it, and it becomes like the rest of his wealth, because it is compensation in a contract of incentive (ja‘alah), so he gains ownership through it, just like compensation stipulated (6) for returning lost property or a runaway slave. If the compensation is a liability upon the conscience (fi al-dhimmah), it is a debt that he is compelled to pay, and he is forced to hand it over if he is solvent; if he is insolvent, he is placed with the creditors.

Section: Competition is a permissible (ja'iz) contract. Ibn Hamid mentioned this, and it is the view of Abu Hanifah and one of the two opinions of al-Shafi‘i. In the other [opinion], he said: It is a binding contract if the compensation is from both of them, and permissible if it is from one of them or from someone else. The Qadi mentioned this as a possibility, because it is a contract whose condition is that both the compensation and the object of the contract are known, thus it is binding, like a lease (ijarah). Our argument is that it is a contract regarding which one cannot be certain of the ability to deliver, so it is permissible, like returning a runaway slave; for it is a contract on attaining the result, which is not under his control, and thus it differs from a lease. Based on this, each of the two contracting parties has the right to rescind it before starting the competition. If one of them wants to increase or decrease the amount (7), [the other is not obliged to comply with him] (8). As for after commencing the competition, if no advantage has become apparent for one over the other, it is permissible for either of them to rescind it. If an advantage has become apparent for one [over the other] (9), such as outstripping the other with his horse during part of the competition, or hitting more with his arrows, the one who is leading has the right to rescind, but the one who is trailing does not; because if it were permissible for him, the purpose of the competition would be lost. For as soon as it becomes clear to him that his opponent is ahead, he would rescind it and quit the competition, and the intended purpose would not be achieved. The followers of al-Shafi‘i said: If we say that the contract is permissible, there are two views regarding the permissibility of rescission by the one who is trailing.

Section: It is a condition that the compensation be known, because it is wealth in a contract, so it must be known, like all other contracts, and it is known by observation, or by quantity and description, as has been mentioned in more than one place. It is permissible for it to be immediate or deferred, like compensation in a sale. It is permissible for part of it to be immediate and part of it to be deferred; if he says: "If you outshoot me, you get one dinar now and a qafiz of wheat after a month," it is permissible and valid.