Competitions and Taking Compensation for Them

Question:
And other such things are things in which Allah will cause you to fail. What is the ruling on entering a race to deceive in order to obtain a prize, and what is the ruling if the occasion is a specific festival, such as 'Id al-Fitr or 'Id al-Adha?

Answer:
Racing on foot is permissible, but it is not permissible to take compensation for it. Racing on foot for sport, for strength, or to display skill is fine; the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raced on foot. However, compensation is not permissible except in three cases. These three cases are among the means of jihad: . "An-Nasl" refers to archery; it is permissible to take compensation for archery. Also, "al-Khaf" is racing on horses, and "al-Khaf" is racing on camels among those who own camels. "Al-Hafir" is for horses. These are the three cases in which it is permissible to take compensation for the competition. Anything else is not permissible, but it is allowed. Competitions without compensation are permitted, such as racing on foot, wrestling, provided it is not the wrestling known today, which is the wrestling of the disbelievers. It is not the wrestling like the wrestling of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with Rukanah. Wrestling that contains no gharar (excessive uncertainty) and no [defect] is permissible to compete in, but without money.