Section: Forming Teams among the Archers

This matter comprises two situations. The first is when the competitors are only two individuals, and the second is when they divide into two opposing groups.

If they are only two (1) and one of them knows with certainty that the other will inevitably defeat him—or be inevitably defeated by him—then the ruling is as follows:

• If the one who is sure to win is the one who puts up the stake, the arrangement is valid, for he takes nothing from the other; at most he safeguards his own property and bests his companion.

• If the one who is sure to lose is the one who puts up the stake and he has a legitimate purpose (2)—for example, he wishes to benefit his child, a friend, or a poor person by conveying money to him in this way, while at the same time strengthening and cheering himself (3)—the arrangement is likewise permissible and he is acting benevolently. Should he lack any sound objective, however, the validity of the wager is questionable, for it entails giving away his wealth in a manner that yields him no benefit, neither worldly nor spiritual, and such conduct is prohibited by both the Sacred Law and sound reason (4).

Abu al-Maʿali al-Juwayni states in al-Nihāya: “If one of the two puts up the stake knowing that the person for whom the prize is stipulated cannot win, the match counts as a contest without any stake; but if he knows that he will win, then—according to the sounder opinion—it is valid.”