of some of Aḥmad’s followers. (1)

If taking (2) money through this sort of contest is deemed a lawful gain, then taking it in a contest that upholds the religion and unfurls its banners and signs is even more fitting and deserving.

Accordingly, every competition that assists the struggle in Allah’s cause is permissible when a prize is offered, unlike contests that give no support to the religion—such as cockfighting, ram-butting, swimming (3), and other merely lawful crafts.

They said: Parallel to the Prophet’s ﷺ wrestling match with Rukānah is the wager placed by al-Ṣiddīq with the unbelievers of Quraysh over the Prophet’s prediction that the Romans would defeat the Persians. The stake came from both sides, as the hadith’s full text appears at the beginning of this book (4); its chain meets the criteria of authenticity, and it was declared sound by al-Tirmidhī and others.

They also said: It is unsound to claim that (5) the story of al-Ṣiddīq was abrogated by the prohibition of gambling, for gambling (6) was forbidden together with wine in a single verse, and wine