Sunan an-Nasa'i: The Book of Horses, Races and Shooting

"I was sitting with the Messenger of Allah when a man said: 'O Messenger of Allah! The people have lost interest in horses and put down their weapons, and they say there is no Jihad, and that war has ended.' The Messenger of Allah turned to face him and said: 'They are lying, now the fighting is to come. There will always be a group among my Ummah who will fight for the truth, for whom Allah will cause some people to deviate, and grant them provision from them, until the Hour begins and until the promise of Allah comes. Goodness is tied to the forelocks of horses until the Day of Resurrection. It has been revealed to me that I am going to die and will not stay long, and you will follow me group after group, striking one another's necks. And the place of safety for the believers is Ash-Sham.'"

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'There is goodness tied to the forelocks of horses until the Day of Resurrection. And horses are of three types: Those that bring reward to man, those that are a means of protection for a man, and those that are a burden (of sin) for a man. As for those that bring reward, they are kept for the cause of Allah and for Jihad. No fodder enters their stomach but for everything that enters their stomachs, reward is written for him, even if he puts them out to pasture.'" And he quoted the Hadith.

"Horses may bring reward to a man, or they may be a means of protection, or they may be a burden (of sin). As for that which brings reward, it is a man who keeps it for the cause of Allah and ties it with a long rope in a pasture or a garden; whatever it eats or drinks in that pasture or garden will count as good deeds for him. If it breaks its rope and jumps over one or two hills, its footsteps" -and according to the Hadith of Al-Harith, "its dung will count as good deeds for him. If it passes by a river and drinks from it, even though (its owner) did not intend to give it water from that river, that will also bring him reward. If a man keeps a horse in order to earn an independent living and avoid asking others for help, and he does not forget his duty toward Allah with regard to their (the horses') necks and backs, then they will be a means of protection for him. If a man keeps horses out of pride, to show off before others and to fight the Muslims, then that will be a burden (of sin) for him." The Prophet was asked about donkeys and he said: "Nothing has been revealed to me concerning them except this Verse which is comprehensive in meaning: 'So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant) shall see it. And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom (or a small ant) shall see it.'"

"There was nothing dearer to the Messenger of Allah after women than horses."

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'Call (your children) by the names of the prophets. And the most beloved names to Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, are 'Abdullah and 'Abdur-Rahman. Keep horses; wipe their forelocks and posteriors, and prepare them for Jihad, but do not prepare them to seek vengeance for people killed during the Jahiliyyah. You should seek out Kumait, horses with a white mark on the face and white feet, or red with a white mark on the face and white feet, or black with a white mark on the face and white feet.'"

The Prophet used to dislike the Shikal among horses. And the wording is that of Isma'il.

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet used to dislike the Shikal among horses.

"Omens are only in three things: a woman, a horse or a house."

"Omens are in houses, women and horses."

"If there are (omens) in anything, they are in houses, women and horses."

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'Blessing is in the forelocks of horses.'"

"I saw the Messenger of Allah twisting the forelock of a horse with his two fingers, and saying: 'Goodness is tied to the forelocks of horses until the Day of Resurrection: Reward and spoils of war.'"

"There is goodness in the forelocks of horses until the Day of Resurrection."

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'Goodness is tied to the forelocks of horses until the Day of Resurrection.'"

"Goodness is tied to the forelocks of horses until the Day of Resurrection: Reward and spoils of war."

"Goodness is tied to the forelocks of horses until the Day of Resurrection: Reward and spoils of war."

"Goodness is tied to the forelocks of horses until the Day of Resurrection: Reward and spoils of war."

"Uqbah bin 'Amir used to pass by me and say: 'O Khalid, let us go out and shoot arrows.' One day I came late and he said: 'O Khalid, come and I will tell you what the Messenger of Allah said.' So I went to him and he said: 'The Messenger of Allah said: Allah will admit three people to Paradise because of one arrow: The one who makes it seeking good thereby, the one who shoots it and the one who hands it to him. So shoot and ride, and if you shoot that is dearer to me than if you ride. And play is only in three things: A man training his horse, and playing with his wife, and shooting with his bow and arrow. Whoever gives up shooting after learning it because he is no longer interested in it, that is a blessing for which he is ungrateful -or that he has rejected.'"

"The Messenger of Allah said: 'There is no Arabian horse but it is allowed to offer two supplications every Sahar (end of the night): O Allah, You have caused me to be owned by whoever You wanted among the sons of Adam, and you have made me belong to him. Make me the dearest of his family and wealth to him, or among the dearest of his family and wealth to him.'"

"A mule was given as a gift to the Messenger of Allah and he rode it." 'Ali said: "If we mate a donkey with a horse, we will have one like this." The Messenger of Allah said: "That is only done by those who do not know."

I was with Ibn 'Abbas and a man asked him: "Did the Messenger of Allah recite during Zuhr and 'Asr?" He said: "No." He said: "Perhaps he used to recite to himself?" He said: "May your face be scratched! This question is worse than the first one. The Messenger of Allah was a slave whose Lord commanded him and he conveyed (the message). By Allah, the Messenger of Allah did not specify anything for us above the people, except for three things: He commanded us to perform Wudu' properly, not to consume charity, and not to mate donkeys with horses."

"Whoever keeps a horse for the cause of Allah out of faith in Allah and believing the promise of Allah, its feed, water, urine and dung will all count as Hasanat in the balance of his deeds."

It was narrated from Ibn 'Umar that the Messenger of Allah organized a horse race and sent them from Al-Hafya' and its finish line was Thaniyyat Al-Wada'; and he organized a race for horses that had not been made lean, and the course stretched from Ath-Thaniyyah to the Masjid of Banu Zuraiq.

It was narrated from Ibn 'Umar that the Messenger of Allah organized a race for horses that had been made lean, from Al-Hafya' and its finish line was Thaniyyat Al-Wada', and he organized another race for horses that had not been made lean, from Ath-Thaniyyah to the Masjid of Banu Zuraiq, and 'Abdullah was among those who took part in the race.

"There should be no awards (for victory in a competition) except for arrows, camels or horses."

"There should be no awards (for victory in a competition) except on arrows, camels or horses."

"No award (for victory in a competition) is permissible except over camels or horses."

"The Messenger of Allah had a she-camel called Al-'Adba' which could not be beaten. One day a Bedouin came on a riding-camel and beat her (in a race). The Muslims were upset by that, and when he saw the expressions on their faces they said: 'O Messenger of Allah, Al-'Adba' has been beaten.' He said: 'It is a right upon Allah that nothing is raised in this world except He lowers it.'"

"There should be no awards (for victory in a competition) except over camels or horses."

"There is no 'bringing', no 'avoidance' and no Shighar in Islam, and whoever robs is not one of us."

"There is no 'bringing', no 'avoidance' and no Shighar in Islam."

"The Messenger of Allah raced with a Bedouin and (the latter) won. It was as if the Companions of the Messenger of Allah were upset by this, so he said: 'It is a right upon Allah that there is nothing that raises itself in this world except that He lowers it.'"

"In the year of Khaibar, the Messenger of Allah allocated four shares to Az-Zubair bin Al-'Awwam: A share of Az-Zubair, a share for the relatives of Safiyyah bint 'Abdul-Muttalib, the mother of Az-Zubair, and two shares for the horse."