and not to other contests, their answer is that the Prophet ﷺ restricted the concession to those three because they are matters of truth. Awarding a prize in them is an aid to what is right—just as helping a pilgrim, a fasting person, or a soldier with the costs of his pilgrimage, fast, or campaign is an aid to obedience. Spending money on such competitions is therefore spending it on something lawful and meritorious, unlike other pastimes.

According to this view, no muhallil (third, stake-free entrant) is needed at all, for the donor is merely giving his money to whichever competitor proves superior in obeying Allah. Whichever one wins takes the prize—just as al-Shāfiʿī is reported to have asked some of his household about a legal question (1) and said, “Whoever answers it, I will give him a dirham.” It is like a commander saying, “Whoever kills an enemy combatant may keep his spoils, and whoever brings the head of one of the idolaters’ leaders shall have such-and-such,” and the other cases where a bounty is placed: the reward goes to whoever surpasses others in a virtuous deed, so that people will be encouraged toward what helps them obey Allah and seek His good pleasure. For this reason the Prophet ﷺ exempted it from the category of futile amusement.

This, then, is the clarification and establishment of that school’s position (2).

Section

Another group said: The prize money may be offered by the ruler or by an uninvolved third party. If, however, one of the two competitors himself puts up the stake, it is only permissible on the condition that the stake does not revert to the one who offered it. If a third person is present with them, the prize goes to him; and if there are only the two competitors, it goes to whoever happens to be in attendance.