Hoof Wizard

Sibak Al-khayl (horse Racing) in Islam

The horse is an important and valuable member of the mammalia. Among the earliest evidence of the importance of the horse to human culture uncovered wall paintings in the caves of Lascaux in southern France, dating around 30 000 BC The first horse was useful in welfare and to before 1500 BC when the Mesopotamian people began to use horses to pull their chariots. However, it is a matter increased by Canon Taylor in its origin Aryans (p.161), if the horse was first used to draw tanks or riding. He, and William Ridgeway (Academy of Jan. 3, 1891) says that, "At first the horse was very small and unable to carry humans and that it was after generations of domestication under careful feeding and breeding the horse was of sufficient size to carry the man on his back with ease. "According to Max Muller, it was stated that the Vedas, in India, it was used for chariot-driving and riding.

Thoroughbred race horse, such as remote ancestor, eohippus was a small, hoofed quadruped of the size of a fox, is the most beautiful animals bred by man. By a careful process of selection through the race-course test over a period of two hundred and fifty years, has a noble and courageous animal was shaped in the hands of skilled breeders, from an original mix of the imported, pure-bred Arab, and so-called Turkish or Barbary fathers, and the English hybrid jumps existing in Europe at the end of 17 century.

The earliest dates for horse-racing has not yet been confirmed. Such competitions However, held in Babylonian, Syria and Egypt. Clay plaques excavated in Cappadocia in Asia Minor, written in 1400 BC disclose on the training of horses for racing. The four horse chariot race was introduced in the Olympic Games in Greece on 23 Olympic Games, or about 664 BC It was the 33rd Olympiad that the race to mount the horses were first introduced about 624 BC, and the first race saddled horses were kept in games of 564 BC

Horse-racing is derived from the war, car racing, and hunting, and it is not without significance that, at the time of the Roman occupation of Britain, Queen Boadicea and her people, the tribe of the Iceni, lived on Newmarket Heath, and that their gold and silver coins were stamped on the back of the effigy a horse. The earliest horse races in England, of which a record still exists, took place at Netherby in Yorkshire in about AD 210 between the Arabian horses brought to Europe by the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus Alexander, who made special arrangements for shelter and training of these delicate horses. In the reign of King Richard I, the horse ran a fashionable pastime for the barons and knights. It was not until the reign of King Henry VIII that the first race course was officially established on Roodee in Chester in 1540, and an annual prize first instituted, which took the form of a silver bell, and besides, this monarch did much to improve the royal studs and breed of the horse in general throughout the country.

The Arabian is considered the oldest pure breed, but its exact origins remain untested for lack of scientific evidence. Antique sculpture and ancient rock drawings showing horses of Arab appearance found in the Arabian Peninsula, and wall inscriptions in Egypt, stating that an Arabic type has existed in the Middle East for well over 3000 years. These Eastern or Oriental, the horses are considered to be the taproot stock of all the Southern hot-blooded horses, in contrast to the northern cold-blooded.

As an old pure Arabian race is extremely prepotent, and for centuries has been used up-grade, with the result that there is hardly a breed of light horse that does not contain any Arab blood – the most outstanding race to evolve from Arab sources are thoroughbreds. The foundation stock was a mixture of eastern mares and stallions, and Gallowavs and other British horses. Three phenomenal stallions-the Darley Arabian, The Godolphin Arabian and the Byerley Turk – dominated Thoroughbred descent, and every thoroughbred track in the male line to just these three.

Originally, most Arabs were nomadic. With a climate of extreme scarcity food, and the hard work expected of horses, there was a cast of survival of the fittest. In the days when the tribes were constantly at war or raids were a common occurrence, the Arab was dependent of speed and stamina of his mount for his own survival. Mares were used to attack enemies, a stallion could not be trusted by staying calm, and the Arab mare was thus a very valuable property of its owner.

When fighting the rider had a lance (as in some northern tribes could be as much as 6 meters long), and the mare had to be extremely flexible, able to stop dead in stride her spin on her hocks, and dart off again. Mares were kept bound in Bedouin camps and sometimes shared a tent with his master. Centuries of living in close proximity with humans has equipped the Arab with an exceptional ability to form strong companionship with humans. It is likely that there were no horses in Arabia before the Christian era, and that they are direct descendants of the wild horse in the Libyan North Africa, which was domesticated in Egypt. Ridgeway States kings of Egypt had these horses 1500 years BC, and they probably came into Arabia through Palestine between the first and sixth centuries.

According to the Encyclopaedia Americana (14:391) "Horses start to appear in Arabia in the first century BC, and at the time (the Prophet) Muhammad a distinct and unique type of Arabian horse had evolved." The Prophet used horses to great effect in the holy wars. They proved faster and more maneuverable than the camels. It was the prophet who directed that horses should be bred by the faithful, so that they would be better prepared to gallop out and spread the Faith of Islam. The order from the prophet, enshrined in the Koran meant that horse breeding began to spread among the Bedouins, and the true Arabian breed began. Historian Ibn Khallikan (3:476) writes that "We know that in 12,000 Berber cavalry who landed in Spain under the command of Tariq bin Zihad, there were twelve Arabian horses. Hence Arabian horses introduced in the West. "Thus, Arabic became the home of England's Derby.

The common Arabic word for horse is Faras, either stallion (Fahl) or mare, as a collective al-khayl. The word for horse khayl occurs five times in the Koran. The title and first verse of Sura 79 (The Draw, al-naziat) and Sura 100 (The Runners, al-adiyat) are probably more references to horses. The title of Sura 37 (The Dress ranks, al-saffat), Sura 51 (The Scatter, al-dhariyat) and Surah 77 (Those Sent, al-mursalat) can also refer to them as well.

According to the Quran: "By running adiyat panting, and those who make fire stately (100:1-2). Most commentators suggest importance of adiyat as panting horses of authority Ibn Abbas.

"And (He created) horses, mules and donkeys for you to ride and zinat" (4:08 p.m.). The Arabic word zina or zinat means ornament, entertainment, and entertainment. Therefore, horses, mules and donkeys, where horses are prominent, are intended not only for riding, but breeding and racing.

Tradition says that the first to ride a horse was the prophet Ishmael. Others argue that the Arab horses come from those of Solomon. The latter inherited 1000 horses from David. It is said that the tribal Azd time came to Solomon and asked for a gift, he gave them one of the horses, which they gave the name of al-ZAD rakib, it is derived from all Arab horses.

An ancient race who were familiar with the rise of Islam. They have bred closely guarded pure strains of warm blooded desert horses for centuries – it is said an Arab pedigree can recite his favorite horses dating back to 600 AD The best horses were never sold and never left Arabia. God is said to have created the horse out of the south wind, and some Arab horse carries the Prophet thumb mark on the neck, where Mohammed was to have touched them

Horse Racing (sibak al khayl or ijra al khayl) had been a great sport and a favorite pastime in pre-Islamic Arabia. It was part of the riding (furusiyya), regarded as essential for military training and also as an object of entertainment for people from all walks of life. During the Islamic period, breeding, maintenance and training of horses was one of the means to facilitate the prosecution of holy war. The Prophet regarded horse-breeding as a meritorious calling, and assigned a portion the booty gained in battle. This religious sanction fostered a competitive attitude among the farmers and encouraged the strengthening of the stock, which suffered considerable depletion during the wars at the time. The cavalry was actually to be an important factor in military success of the Muslims.

Kunwar Muhammad Ashraf writes in Life and Conditions the people of Hindustan (Karachi, 1978, p. 187) that, "Horse-racing was just as popular. It had the added benefit of blessings to the Prophet who had forbidden pleasures second and gambling in no uncertain terms, but was lenient towards betting on horse racing. A common literature soon sprang up on the study of habits, the food and nutrition, care and training of horses, which makes credit to scientific methods of age. It is quite reasonable to conclude from these facts that the number of pedigree horses were quite large in the studs of the Sultans and nobility. Special Arab horses were imported for racing purposes from Yamen, Oman and Fars. Each animal is reported to have cost 100-4000 tanks. "

It is therefore not surprising a rich literature was that contained information on hippology, horse breeding, the genealogies of horses and their various categories of race courses, horse-racing, farriery and horseback riding. No other animals developed from the authors of the time such a large number of literary works, both in prose and poetry. Ibn Nadim in his famous catalog of Arabic books, collected in 377/987, Kitab al-Fihrist (tr. by Bayard Dodge, London, 1970, p. 80-213), mentions the following works on the horse and on issues related to it: Kitab al-Khayl of Abu Ubaidah (d. 210/825), Kitab al-Khayl, Kitab Khalq al-Faras and the Kitab al-sarja wal-lijam of Asma'i (d. 213/828), Kitab al-Khayl by Ahmed bin Hatim (d. 231/846), Kitab al-Khalq Faras by Ibrahim al-Zujaj (D. 310/914), Kitab al-Kabir khayl and Kitab al-Saghir khayl and Kitab al-sarja wal-lijam Ibn Durayd (d. 321/925), Kitab al-khayl and Kitab al-Nasab khayl by Mohammad bin Ziyad al-Arabi (D. 231/846), Kitab al-Khalq Faras of Abi Thabit, Kitab al-Khalq Khayl by Hisham bin Ibrahim al-Kirmani, Kitab al-Khalq Faras of Kassim al-Anbari, Kitab al-khayl al Sawabik of Khawlani , Kitab al-Khalq Faras of Washsha (d. 325/930), Kitab al-khayl by Hisham al-Kalbi (d. 207/822), Kitab al-khayl wal-Rihana of Madaini (d. 215/830), Kitab al Hala'ib wal-Rihana by Ahmed al-Khazzaz (D. 258/871), Kitab al-khayl bi Khatt Ibn al-Kufi by Muhammad bin Habib, Kitab al-Fursan of Abu Khalifa (d. 305/909), Kitab al-Sifat khayl wal Ardiya wa Asmaiha bin Makka wa Mon Walaha of Abu al-Ashath, Kitab al-Akhbar wa-Faras Ansabuha of Abul Hasan al-Nassaba, Kitab al-khayl by Qadi al-Ashna'i, Kitab al-khayl of Attabi, Kitab al-khayl of Utabi (228 d / 843), Kitab al-Kabir al-khayl by Ahmed bin Abi Tahir (d. 280/894) and Kitab al-Jamhara Ansab al-Faras Ibn Khurdadhbih (d. 300/904). Masudi (d. 345/950) in his Muruj al-Dhahab (Paris, 1861, 4:24-5) refers a book called al-Jala'ib wal Hala'ib of Issa bin Lahi'a, a work which, according to him, including a detailed description of almost any race (Halbe) of pre-Islamic and Islamic periods.

In Hidayah (2:432), it is said that horses are of four types: 1) Birzaun or Burzun (a heavy draft horse from abroad). 2) Atiq (first blood horses in Arabia). 3) Hain (half-bred horse who is an Arab mother and father a foreigner), and 4) A half-bred horse who's father is an Arab and whose mother is a foreigner).

Long maydans (Hippodrome) was set apart for this purpose in Arabia. According Hilayat Fursan fi al-Shi'a al-Shujan (Leiden, 1872, p. 142) Ibn Hudhayl, "Islam forbade gambling (maize), but allowed the placement of bets on archery (nasal), foot-racing (Qadam) and horse-racing (hafir)" The Egyptian scholar Isa bin Lahiah (d. 762) is already credited with a book called al-Jala'ib wal Hala'ib where he mentioned all the races, where horses were raced in the pre-Islamic and the Islamic era. The work of al-Asma'i, Kitab al-khayl (ed. Haffner, Vienna, 1875) and Kitab al-sarja of Abu Ubaidah is very rich to give the relative information.

According to Fadl al-khayl (p.389) of ad-Dimyati (1217-1306), "In contrast to the hadith of the Prophet that allowed competition with camel, horse and arrow (khuff, hafir, nasl) Some people even contented that racing for the effort was only allowed for horses, as this was what the Arabs of old were accustomed to. "We can also quote what the ad-Dimyati has to say in the Fifth chapter of his al-Fadl khayl that, "Ibn Banin (1181-1263) has mentioned in his book, God's messenger was riding horses with a garment that had come to him from Yamen as stakes. He gave the winner (Sabiq) three, the other horse (musalli) two, the third one horse, the fourth horse one dinar, the fifth horse a dhiram and the sixth horse rod (qasabah). He said: "Do God bless you and all of you, the winner (Sabiq) and loser (fiskil) ".

Abul Hasan Ahmad bin Yahya bin Jabir al-Baladhuri, Ibn Sad, al-Waqidi, Abd al Muhaymin bin Abbas bin Sahl bin Sad, his father (Abbas), his grandfather (Sahl), which said: "(Once) when God's messenger was riding horses, I was riding on his az-Zarib. He Yamenite gave me a robe. "

He (al-Baladhuri) said: I have been told by Muhammad bin Sad, al-Waqidi, Sulayman bin al-Harith, az-Zubayr bin al-Mundhir bin Abi Usayd, who said: "Abu Usayd as-Saidi was riding on horseback Lizaz Prophet and he gave him a Yemeni garment."

Al-Khuttali reports in his book a tradition of Ibn Lahiah, Amr bin Bakr, Ibrahim bin Muslim, Abu Alqamah, client Banu Hashim (in) that the Messenger of God had ordered the horses to be raced, and he put up as prizes for them (sabbaqaha) three bunches of dates from three palm trees. He gave a bunch to the winner, one to the other horse, and the third horse. They were fresh dates. "(Vide Fadl al-Khayl of ad-Dimyati)

According to Dar Qutni (2:552), "Sanjah was another horse Prophet used to ride on. When it was made to have a race. It won and the Prophet was much cantly

About the Author

Mumtaz Ali Tajddin S. Ali is an popular Ismaili Scholar, He has written many books on history and culture of Islam and Ismailism, Sibak Al-Khayl is an article taken from Encyclopedia of Ismailism, must read about Horse Racing in Islam.