Does Mawlana Hazar Imam Gamble on Horses? Why does the Imam Breed Horses?
The Islamic tradition of horse breeding and racing:
Firstly, horse breeding and racing are revered across Muslim cultures across Arabia, Persia, and South Asia. The Qur’an mentions horses in Surah 100 where God swears by running horses; whatever God swears by in the Quran must have value. Per a famous Sunni and Shia Hadith, the Prophet said: “There is goodness in the forelocks of horses until the Day of Judgment” (Sunni Source: Sahih Bukhari Book 56, Hadith 65)
The tradition of both breeding and racing horses goes back to Prophet Muhammad himself. Even many Sunni Hadith reports, dating from the 2nd century onward, describe that the Prophet arranged horse races, offered prize money for the winners, and explicitly allowed others to make wagers (bets) on horse races:
“The Prophet arranged for a horse race and the prepared horses were given less food for a few days before the race to win the race.”
(Sunni Hadith book of Sahih Bukhari, Book 96, Hadith 65)
“The Prophet used to hold a race between horses and kept the one in the fifth year at a long distance.”
(Sunni Hadith book of Abu Dawud, Book 15, Hadith 101)
“The Prophet used to make lean by training horses which he employed in the race.”
(Sunni Hadith book of Abu Dawud, Book 15, Hadith 100)
“Whoever enters a horse (in a race) between two other horses, not knowing whether it will win, that is not gambling. But whoever enters a horse between two other horses, certain that it will win, that is gambling.”
- Prophet Muhammad (Sunni Hadith book of Ibn Majah, Book 24, Hadith 2876)
“No stake is acceptable except in archery, racing a camel and racing a horse.”
- Prophet Muhammad (Sunni Hadith book of Sahih Tirmidhi, Book 23, Hadith 31)
“Wagers are allowed only for racing camels, or horses, or shooting arrows.”
- Prophet Muhammad (Sunni Hadith book of Abu Dawud, Book 15, Hadith 98)
“There should be no prizes for racing except races with camels and horses.”
- Prophet Muhammad (Sunni Hadith book of Ibn Majah, Book 24, Hadith 2878)
Even if some of the above Hadiths were not actually said by Prophet Muhammad historically, they do establish that for Muslims from the second/eighth century onward, horse racing and making wagers on horses is actually allowed by the direct guidance of the Prophet. Thus, there is no real Muslim argument to be made against horse breeding, horse racing, or even betting on horses:
“In short all the Muslim jurists agree that for creating interest in the proper breeding of horses, horse races and other games connected with this animal are allowed in Islam.”
Even in Shia Muslim sources, horse racing and betting on horses (by the horse owners) is considered permissible. Here is a recent Shia text about this:
“It is undoubtedly permissible for participants (and not for spectators) in horse racing and archery to bet among themselves. The winner can rightfully own the amount he wins. Islam has permitted these two competitions because such sports contribute to the overall capabilities of a warrior, and a Muslim well versed in these is better equipped to challenge his adversaries. The details could be pursued in the books of legal rulings. Shahīd Thani in his book “Masalik” quotes the unanimous verdict of the Mujtahids. Three traditions are recorded in the book “Al-Wafi” from Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a.s.) which state that except for horse racing and archery whenever a game is played for stakes, the angels are infuriated and curse the people who lay the bet. It is recorded that the Holy Prophet (S) said: “Angels are present when a competition of horse and camel racing or archery is held. Except for these Three, every competition is gambling and (also) Harām.”
The Ismaili Imamat's Historical involvement with horse breeding and racing:
According to the historical record, the Imam’s family has been in horse breeding and racing for some 250 years. Breeding horses and racing them at major events is a longstanding Arabo-Persian tradition among noble families. Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah speaks to his family history with horses and sports in his public Memoirs:
“My interest in horses, their breeding, training and racing, has been with me all my life and is of course also part of the tradition which I have inherited, the environment in which I was bred. Persian art, in the various exhibitions which have been held in London and elsewhere, has perhaps helped to make the Western public realise the large and important part which sport played in the lives of that old Iranian ruling class whence I am descended. The chase in its many forms was for them not just a distraction; it was a major occupation all their lives; their hounds, their hawks, their horses were the most beautiful, the swiftest and the finest that they could breed or procure. My grandfather in his young manhood, at the court of Fateh Ali Shah, as the favoured son-in-law of that powerful monarch, was as fully absorbed in all the accustomed open-air and athletic sports and pursuits of a sophisticated yet virile society as were any of his contemporaries. After his tribulations and his wanderings ceased and he settled in Bombay, he naturally and happily resumed a way of life not very dissimilar from that which he had known in his youth. And as I have tried to show earlier in this book, such was the atmosphere in which, from the dawning of conscious experience, I spent my childhood and boyhood. When my father died he left a large and imposing sporting establishment in being -- hawks, hounds, and between eighty and ninety race horses. A good deal of this establishment my mother naturally pared down, but she kept twenty or thirty of the horses; and throughout my minority these were raced at meetings all over Western India in my name and under my colours.”
- Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah, The Memoirs of the Aga Khan, Chapter 10: A Respite from Public Life, 1954
The Aga Khans as horse breeders only came into the public spotlight during the Imamate of Sultan Muhammad Shah in the 20th century, where both he and his son Prince Aly Khan became immensely successful in breeding winning horses on the European circuit: “Inheriting his grandfather’s stables, and more importantly, a remarkable talent as a breeder, Aga Khan III beats the European aristocracy at its favourite sport, becoming the first owner to win the Derby five times” (Malise Ruthven, “Aga Khan III and the Ismaili Renaissance”, 384).
Hazar Imam inherited the horse breeding business from his father Prince Aly Khan, who owned his own horses and had inherited horses from Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah. Initially, the Imam was not sure that he would continue the horse business given that he knew nothing about it. But after some thought, he decided to continue it and do it well: he hired the best experts to manage it and spent his spare time supervising the operation. Today, Aga Khan Studs is probably the largest, most successful, and most honored horse breeding operation in the entire world.
Hazar Imam has said quite clearly that he would give up the horse breeding if he ever felt it compromised his role as the Imam:
“It may be useful to emphasise two things. The first is that my activities in the field of private business was the result of mere chance. You may be interested to know for example that I had no choice in owning the horses I own. My father died in a car accident leaving behind him three children, two of whom did not want to continue to breed horses. It was left to me to say whether or not I wished to preserve a family tradition which had been passing from one generation to the next. I did not understand anything in horse-breeding; I thought it was a risk, but I invoked the force of God and I succeeded…But let me reassure you that the moment I feel there is any objection on the part of my community or the countries of the Third World where these activities are being carried out, or that there is any contradiction between them and my status as Imam, I will give them up immediately. They are not among my functions as Imam; they represent only a small fraction of my activities and as long as they do not exceed the limits allowed … why not? [sic] But I do repeat and affirm that I shall give them up the moment they become a burden.”
- Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV,
Riad Naguib El-Rais Interview, ‘The Critical Time’ (Al Mustaqbal, Cairo, Egypt), 20 December 1986
"Of course the horse-racing and the Sardinia venture are incidental; if I felt for one moment they were making my religious and community work suffer I would abandon them. But I have a working day that allows me to do all these things. I get up at six each morning. I have a quick breakfast, then dictate letters and memoranda for a couple of hours. During the rest of the morning I meet people who may be from any of my activities."
- Mawlana Shah Karim al-Husayni (The Sunday Times Interview, ‘The Ruler Without A Kingdom’, NanoWisdoms)
As Princess Zahra reminds us, the horse breeding business is not the central activity of the Imam and his family in terms of how they spend their time. Rather, horse breeding is a “weekend job”, a hobby that they pursue when they are not working on international development and the Imamat work. Nevertheless, the Imam’s horse breeding business is socially and economically valuable to wider society. It provides economic and employment opportunities to thousands of people worldwide and it represents today the history of the Aga Khan family going back generations.
"...The horse industry is an important part of the rural economy, employing millions of people around the world in areas of shrinking agricultural production. It supports farms and villages, it provides permanent, year-round employment to riders, lads, farriers, vets, farmers and businesses of all kinds. As my father said, “You can look at the horse in human life — in agriculture, in war, or as a vehicle of exploration — for hundreds of years. When you think about it, the horse is one of the most extraordinary phenomena we have.” This industry preserves a species, and also an entire population that nurtures that species.”
“I may have given the impression that breeding plays a central role in my family’s activities, but in fact, for the Aga Khan family, it’s a “weekend job”, it’s a peripheral activity. As many people know, we spend 99% of our time working on development projects in Africa, and South and Central Asia, and in many sectors, from micro-finance to healthcare and education, from agro-industry to rural development, including here in India where our institutions have been present for more than a hundred years.”
“This means that the business of breeding and racing horses has to fit into the limited amount of time that can be devoted to hobbies, and we are lucky to have a team of dedicated and highly-qualified colleagues who do a great job of handling “the business” on a daily basis. Nevertheless, I think that this “weekend job” is an important one, because it represents 250 years of family tradition, and it maintains ties with our Persian and Indian history. Many of the families in our studbook have been with us since 1922, and they are old friends.”
- Princess Zahra Aga Khan, Keynote Address at the 36th Asian Racing Conference, Mumbai, India, 26 January 2016
Does the Imam bet on horse races?
Firstly, the Imam does not gamble on his horses (or anyone’s horses). Those who gamble on horse races are responsible for their actions as individuals. The Imam cannot be held responsible for the actions of other people even if they are gambling on his assets. Again, the Imam addressed this in a public interview:
Aga Khan: “Horses in no way compromise what I do, he says with a chuckle.” Noting that orthodox Muslims raise the issue of betting, not so much horse-breeding, he adds he does not gamble; others do on his horses. “I mean, other people drink, I don't drink. I can hardly be held responsible for other people's habits.”
“It is perhaps a measure of the Agha Khan’s [sic] love of horses that he refuses to bet on them: ‘If a big breeder and race horse owner were to start running his stables according to the betting, (he said), you would never see the end of it. It would disrupt all values — it would disrupt all consistency. I just don’t want to run the thing that way. If I have a good horse, I want to run him in the race which is right for him."
When Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah won the famous Derby in the 1930s, the King of England asked him how much he had bet on his horse:
"'The Aga Khan! The Aga Khan! The Aga Khan wins!' From one end of the downs to the other punters joined in the happy chorus of the bookmakers as the beaming owner led in his 18 to 1 Derby winner. The Aga Khan was summoned to the Royal Box and congratulated by King George V and Queen Mary: 'How much did you have on it?' the King asked with a knowing wink: 'Not a shilling, Your Majesty,' the Aga Khan confessed." (Willi Frischauer, The Aga Khans, 104)
The practice of gambling or betting on horse races or on other sports like hockey, soccer, tennis, etc. is very recent. In many places in the world betting only became legalized and state regulated in the mid 20th century. The Imam’s horse breeding goes back 200 years before that time, so he can hardly be held responsible for the gambling industry being legal today – national governments are responsible for this given that they collect taxes on all gambling revenues including horse race bets. Secondly, to say the Imam is morally responsible because someone bets on his horses means that every professional athlete and every professional sports team owner is morally responsible for everyone who bets on their person/team. The whole idea of holding the Imam responsible for other people’s decisions to gamble is simply unfair and a real stretch of the imagination. Is it reasonable to ask the Imam to basically divest from his horse breeding business, a 250 year family tradition, because of the poor decisions of other people? It is not like those who bet on horses will suddenly stop if the Imam leaves horse breeding.
Now, contrary to what people may believe today, the Imam’s horse breeding business is not sustained or driven by gambling/betting revenues. In horse racing, there is official betting that is arranged and hosted by the racing track and the racing association, who serve as a clearing house for the wagers. But horse race betting is “pari-mutuel”, meaning that the players (making bets) are betting against each other only; they are not betting against the “house” (the horse owners or the racetrack). There is also betting by third parties called bookies, taking place off the track and it works the same way. The governments in most US states and many countries including Canada, UK, Ireland, etc. regulate this betting and take a tax cut from the proceeds.
The horse race wager money is divided up among everyone who placed a bet – the winning bets take home most of the money (80-85%) because horse betting is not like casino betting where the “house” is part of the game. The government takes 3-7% tax portion; and the racing track that hosts the betting takes a 10-15% commission of the wager money as part of their total revenue from each horse race. Most government revenue from gambling money goes directly to fund public services like schools, roads, etc. But the point is: the gambling revenue is not part of the Imam’s horse breeding business, and it is not part of the horse breeding business model. You can read more about horse race betting here.
So how does a horse breeding business actually make money? When a horse wins a race, the owners and jockeys of the first four or five horses get some prize money. The prize money is paid out by the racetrack from their total revenue earned from ticket sales, advertising, sponsorship, and the wager commission. Usually the prize money is nominal – ranging in tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars; for very few prominent races, it can be a few million. But prize money is quite incidental, being more like a small bonus, and is not the main revenue stream for a horse breeding operation. A real horse breeding business makes its actual revenue and profits outside the track.
There are two ways that Aga Khan Studs and similar horse breeding business make their actual revenue and generate profits:
1) They breed strong fast horses by using their existing pool of winning horses and having these horses produce offspring; then they either keep the offspring or sell them for a large profit. The idea is that a horse descended from a prior winner will go on to win more races and its price will rise in value. Here is a list of sales of such horses by Aga Khan Studs.
2) They allow a winning horse they already own to mate with the mare (female horse) of another horse breeder and allow that breeder to keep the child horse; this is done for a “stud fee” that can reach even up to $300k per mating; a winning horse can breed 4 times per day, so imagine how much revenue is earned in a whole year from one winning horse’s stud fees – the number goes into tens of millions of dollars. Read about how it all works here.
You can see the Stud Fees charged by Aga Khan Studs; the most valuable horses stud at over $100,000 per breeding session.
For example, a retired horse with major wins can earn millions in stud fees for its breeder long after its last race:
“The thoroughbred breeds with up to 125 mares a year at a record stud fee of $300,000 per mare, which brings Tapit’s yearly earnings to over $35 million. “He’s the most valuable stallion at stud in America,” says Michael Hernon, director of sales at Gainesway, the Lexington, Ky., farm where Tapit resides.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/07/how-americas-most-valuable-stallion-makes-35-million-a-year.html
The above facts establish that Aga Khan Studs revenue and profit is not from gambling monies at all. Rather, it comes from the sale of horses and stud fees, which altogether number into the tens or hundred millions of dollars. You can confirm this by looking at their website where information about their studs, sales, and horse lineages is discussed in detail. Thus, it is quite erroneous for anyone to claim that Hazar Imam’s personal wealth is sustained by gambling. The gambling makes no difference at all to the Imam’s horse breeding success.
Apart from the financial dimension, the breeding and racing of horses is an incredibly meaningful activity, both historically and intellectually, for the Imam as a person. Below are quotes from the 48th and 49th Imams explaining their attachment to horse breeding and racing. It is worth reflecting over their comments, because it shows you that for them, horse breeding with all the complexity, skill, acumen, scientific knowledge, and culture involved in it, is deeply meaningful – both spiritually and culturally – and certainly not a form of “showing off”:
“All those who, like me, are passionate about breeding and racing thoroughbreds do it for the intrinsic value of the adventure, not the drum around a major event."
- Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV,
1997 Paris Match Interview (3rd) with Caroline Pigozzi (Paris, France) [Google translation]
“Nor am I ashamed of being the owner of a big racing stable, about which I propose to say something in a later chapter. My family, as I have indicated, have had a long, honourable and affectionate association with horsemanship in all its forms. Had I to contemplate either giving up a considerable number of horses in training or turning the stable into a paying concern, I have no doubt that by selling a considerable proportion of my stock, I could turn it into a paying business any day of the week. Neither my grandfather, my father nor I have ever looked on our racing as simply a money-making matter, but as a sport which, by careful attention and thoughtful administration, could become self-supporting and a permanent source of pleasure not only for ourselves, as owners, but for thousands -- indeed for millions -- who follow our colours on the turf; and we have considered our studs and our training stables as sources of wealth for the countries in which they are maintained and of practical usefulness from the point of view of preserving and raising the standard of bloodstock.”
- Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III,
“What has the horse meant to various epochs of human civilisation, to various regions of our world? It is a fascinating, nearly unlimited subject. You can approach the topic from the point of view of faith and you will find the horse everywhere: in the Muslim world, in the Christian world. You will find that the horse has been part of sport all over the world, going back centuries, including hunting on horseback and polo. You can look at the horse in human life — in agriculture, in war, or as a vehicle of exploration — for hundreds of years. When you think about it, the horse is one of the most extraordinary phenomena we have.”
- Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV,
“I’ll tell you something. I suppose by nature I like creation, and horse-racing is one of the most creative things a man can enjoy. Each year you are creating new racehorses. You’re using your knowledge and experience, everything you know about the family and physique of the horses, their aptitudes and their weaknesses, to try and breed better stock. And then you’re pitting this stock, the result of your own intelligence and the unknowns of nature, against other people’s intelligence.”
- Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV,
“Of all sports of rapid movement the riding of a horse is the best. The legend of the centaur — half man, half horse — was no idle dream; for you and the splendid creature are one. As its limbs gather and stretch out in perfect rhythm, electricity passes from the animal to you. It is a joy of the spirit as of the body. Through us speak the souls of our ancestors, who have ridden horses from the beginning of time. Yes, we may well believe that the horse was with man from the beginning. No doubt we who have ridden horses get a touch of that great happiness when English thoroughbreds, the exiles of Arabia, fly down the course like winged messengers of speed.”
- Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III,