the youth today occupy themselves: those useless, fruitless pastimes—[ball games] and the like—that impart neither agility nor knowledge. Instead, they squander time, lead to the neglect of duties, and consume people’s money without right.

5- A suitable distance must be fixed for competitions such as horse-racing, rifle-shooting, and the like. Thus the Prophet ﷺ set a course of about six miles for conditioned, light, strong horses, and one mile for the heavier, unconditioned mounts.

Hadith Sixteen

ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with them both, said: “I was presented to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on the Day of Uhud when I was fourteen years old, and he did not approve my participation in the fighting; then I was presented to him on the Day of the Trench when I was fifteen, and he permitted me.”

Lessons Drawn from the Ḥadith

1- The Battle of Uhud occurred in the third year after the Hijrah, and the Battle of the Trench in the fifth. Ibn ʿUmar was therefore fourteen at Uhud—still a boy who had not reached puberty and whom the Prophet deemed incapable of combat—whereas at the Trench he was sixteen, fully able, so he was rejected the first time and accepted the second.

2- Puberty is established upon completing fifteen years of age, or by the emission of semen, or by the appearance of coarse pubic hair—these are the signs for a male. A female has an additional sign: menstruation, which likewise indicates puberty.

3- A commander should inspect his troops and their weapons, for that perfects readiness and preparedness; it is the prudent course expected of a leader. He should turn back those unfit for war—such as the weak or the demoralising—and discard defective weapons, while accepting what is sound, holding an inspection for this very purpose.

Hadith Seventeen

From him—meaning Ibn ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with them both—that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ allocated, in the additional spoils, two shares to the horse and one share to the rider.