the three mentioned in the ḥadith alone; nothing else is permissible. According to this view, taking money through these three is an exception to every other form of competitive wagering.

They contend (1) that nothing outside these three shares their underlying purpose so as to be grouped with them. The remaining activities that have been proposed simply do not provide what these three provide in terms of horsemanship, acquiring the skills of jihad, becoming accustomed to them, and conditioning the body (2) for them. How, then, can they be equated with swimming, stick-sparring, footracing, wrestling, strength training, or pigeon games? For these there is neither text nor sound analogy.

They further explain that horses and camels were the only mounts on which racing was known among the Companions during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. These are the very animals upon which the Prophet himself raced (3); never did he—or any of his Companions—race on a mule or a donkey, despite the presence of mules and donkeys among them.

Horses are suited to charging and retreating, engaging the enemy, and conquering lands. As for donkey riders, they are people of humiliation and scant resources, of no benefit whatsoever in jihad (4). To liken them to horses is one of the most flawed analogies, and to derive an understanding of donkey hooves (5) from the hooves of horses is the farthest thing from sound understanding.