He replied:

All praise is due to Allah. Those who compete in composing these zajal poems and similar verse, together with the partisan supporters on either side—whether wagers are involved or not—are wrongdoers, transgressors and sinners. They deserve severe punishment under Islamic law to deter them and other foolish, misguided, disobedient evildoers like them from such words and deeds, which bring no benefit in religious or worldly affairs. Rather, they harm those who engage in them in both respects.

It is incumbent upon “those in authority and all Muslims” to denounce these people and their helpers until they abandon these reprehensible practices, return to obeying Allah and His Messenger, and adhere to the straight path that Muslims are obliged to follow. These contests involve reprehensible things, some forbidden and others not forbidden but disliked. Among the forbidden things involved are [those] (1) whose prohibition is established by consensus and by the scriptural texts. This can be explained in several respects.

“The first” is that wagering on this is forbidden by the consensus of the Muslims. Likewise, even if the money were provided by one of the two contestants or came from elsewhere, it would still be impermissible. This holds both according to those who maintain that prizes are permitted only for camel racing, horse racing or archery, and according to those who permit prizes in contests other than these three.

Under the first view, the reason is clear. On this subject, there is the well-known hadith recorded in the Sunan collections, in which the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“No prize is permitted except for camel racing, horse racing or archery.”

These three are activities undertaken in jihad in Allah’s cause, so providing prize money for them is a form of spending wealth in Allah’s cause. This differs from other permissible activities, such as wrestling and footracing, which are not activities of jihad. They have therefore been permitted without a prize. “For the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,