for idleness.

• They said: By means of this threefold division the wisdom of the Sacred Law becomes manifest: it allowed prizes to be staked in races involving camels, horses, and arrows, while forbidding them in all other contests. It also shows (1) that introducing a third party into the wager brings absolutely no benefit to the two competitors.

• They said: Moreover, the Sharia is founded upon justice. Allah exalted be He sent His messengers and revealed His scriptures so that people might uphold equity. He has forbidden wrongdoing to Himself and made it forbidden among His servants. All contracts stand upon fairness between the contracting parties—whether they are contracts of exchange or partnership, voluntary or binding. If contracts (3) are built on mutual justice from both sides, how can any agreement require that only one (4) of the two parties put forward his stake while the other does not, when both exert the same effort and share the same desire? Each (5) of them hopes to win and earn a prize; what, then, has made it lawful for one to pay while exempting the other?

• They said: Furthermore, the “third competitor” (the muḥallil) is no different from them in effort and aspiration. What obliges the first two to stake their money for him if he outstrips them, yet forbids him—and them—to stake his money for them if they outstrip him, when all three are equal in every respect of effort? So by what analogy—