In truth, the Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—compiled this work as a book of jurisprudence. He prefaced it with the prophetic hadiths that pertain to the subject, then closed it with material he found in al-Ṭabarī’s book, selecting from it and from other sources as he saw fit. If what we have said is not the case, then why did he omit the well-known accomplishments expected of a horseman, such as pressing the shin against the horse’s belly, fixing the foot firmly in the stirrup, and enjoying complete control over all his movements in the saddle from every direction? This is a topic that deserves fuller treatment elsewhere, and I am better equipped to expound on it.

Why, moreover, did he not discuss the rulings on striking with the sword and the cautions a mounted swordsman must observe—lest he wound his own horse or himself, or miss the mark altogether and thereby allow his opponent to exploit the opening created by countering his blow? For if the stroke is misplaced it may damage his horse, distract him by striking it, and be wasted; and even at close quarters he may strike himself. The notoriety of this topic spares us the need to pursue it further.

Why did he not mention the striking patterns used by horsemen and their counters—neither the istiqlāl and its reply, nor the radd and its reply, nor the kaf and its reply, nor the sharīṭ, which the horsemen of the Maghrib call al-ḍabb (1)? He touched on none of these matters, though they too warrant detailed discussion.

And why did he leave out the rulings on the lance—its various drills designed to train the limbs and prepare them for thrusting and neutralizing, the regulations governing how the horse is to circle while it is being used, what is required in that regard and what must be avoided? In short, he said nothing about any of this.