Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah

Hazrat Iyad Ash'ari (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that I was present at the Battle of Yarmouk. Hazrat Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "Who will race horses with me?" A young man said, "I am ready to race, if you will not be angry." The narrator says that the young man went ahead of him. I was watching the locks of Hazrat Abu Ubaidah (may Allah be pleased with him); they were disheveled and he was moving them aside while riding an Arabian horse behind that young man.

Hazrat Zuhri states that during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), the companions used to hold races. Hazrat Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Hazrat Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) was the first to award a prize for this.

Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Alqamah (may Allah have mercy on him) had a non-Arabian horse on which he used to race.

Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates that Alqamah raced with a man, and that man got ahead of him, so he (Alqamah) grabbed his reins and pulled him down from the horse.

Hazrat Saeed bin Al-Musayyib (may Allah be pleased with him) says that there is no harm in racing two horses if a third horse is also included with them; if it wins, it will receive the prize for winning, and if it does not win, then nothing will be due upon it.

It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Whoever enters his horse between two horses and is certain that he will win, then this is gambling; and whoever enters his horse between two horses and is not certain of winning, then this is not gambling.

It is narrated from Hazrat Abdullah bin Haseen (may Allah be pleased with him) that Hazrat Hudhaifa (may Allah be pleased with him) had a horse named Ashhab, upon which he rode and surpassed everyone in a horse race. The narrator says that I came to him and he was sitting on his feet, his back was not touching the ground, he was drenched in sweat out of happiness and sweat was dripping, and his horse was tied in the pasture and he was looking at it, and people were coming to him and congratulating him.

Hazrat Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him) used to ride a non-Arab horse and would surpass people in horse racing.

It is narrated from Hazrat Aamir (may Allah be pleased with him) that Hazrat Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) raced a horse and took the lead in the race.

It is narrated from Hazrat Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) that the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to compete in horse riding and walking.

It is narrated from Hazrat Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) kept his horse hungry for a race, then he made those horses which had been kept hungry race from Hafyaa to Thaniyyat al-Wada', and those horses which had not been kept hungry, he made them race from Thaniyyat al-Wada' to the mosque of Banu Zuraiq.

Hazrat Abu Lubaid (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a horse was sent to me while Hazrat Hakam bin Ayyub was the governor of Basra. We went out to see it. We said, "It would be good if we went to Hazrat Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him)." Then we went to him; he was in the corner of the palace. We said to him, "O Abu Hamza (may Allah be pleased with him)! Did the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to compete in horse races during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?" He said, "Yes, by Allah, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to race his horse, whose name was Subhah. Once, it won the race, and then leaves were broken for it."

It is narrated from Hazrat Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) that two persons saw a deer while both of them were in the state of ihram. Both of them competed with each other, struck it with sticks, and broke them. Then both of them presented themselves before Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and Hazrat Abdur Rahman bin Auf (may Allah be pleased with him) was also present with him. Hazrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked Hazrat Ibn Auf (may Allah be pleased with him), "What is your opinion?" Hazrat Ibn Auf (may Allah be pleased with him) replied, "This is gambling, even though it was a competition."

Hazrat Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates from his father that the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) organized a horse race and set a prize of a few uqiyah of silver for it, and he organized a camel race but did not set any prize for it.