It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) would line up Sayyiduna Abdullah, Sayyiduna Ubaidullah, and several children from Banu Abbas, and then say to them: Whoever reaches me first will receive such and such a reward. So they would run towards him (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and then climb onto his blessed back and chest, and he (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) would kiss them and embrace them.

Narrated from Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), she said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) raced with me, and I outran him. Then we stayed for a while, until when I gained some weight, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) raced with me again, and this time he outran me. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This victory is in return for that previous one.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Salamah bin Akwa’ (may Allah be pleased with him), while he was relating the incident of returning from the expedition of Dhi Qarad to Madinah Munawwarah. He says: There was a distance between us and Madinah of about half a day’s journey. In that army, there was an Ansari man; no one could compete with him in running. During this journey, he began to call out: Is there anyone to compete? Is there anyone who will race me to Madinah? He repeated this several times. I was behind the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), meaning the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had made me his companion on the ride. I said to that man: Do you not respect any noble person? Do you not have any awe for a person of honor? He said: No, except for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). I said: O Messenger of Allah! May my parents be sacrificed for you, allow me to go, I will compete with him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: If you wish, then do so. Then I said to him: I am coming, now get down from your mount. He jumped down from his mount, and I also bent my legs and jumped down from the camel. The race began. For the first one or two hills, I avoided running fast so that my breath would not be cut off. Then I ran fast until I caught up with him and struck him between his shoulders and said: By Allah, I have surpassed you. He laughed in response and said: I thought so too, until we reached Madinah.

Narrated from Sayyiduna Salamah bin Akwa’ (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to the people of Banu Aslam while they were competing in archery in the market. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Banu Isma’il! Shoot arrows, indeed your father was an archer as well. Shoot arrows, and I am with Banu so-and-so. When he (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned the name of one group, they stopped. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them: Shoot arrows (why have you stopped?). They said: O Messenger of Allah! How can we shoot when you have sided with Banu so-and-so? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Shoot arrows, I am with all of you.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) passed by a group of archers and said: O Banu Ismail! Shoot arrows, indeed your father was also an archer.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Aamir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Soon many regions will be conquered and Allah Almighty will suffice for you, but no man should become so incapable that he begins to neglect archery.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse on the pulpit: "Prepare against them whatever force you can." Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Beware! Indeed, force is archery. Beware! Indeed, force is archery. Beware! Indeed, force is archery.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Uqbah bin Amir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Surely, Allah will admit three persons into Paradise because of a single arrow: (1) the one who makes it, intending good by making it, (2) the one who hands it over to the warrior, and (3) the one who shoots it. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Practice archery and also practice riding horses, but archery is more beloved to me than riding. And whatever things a servant plays with, all of them are false and purposeless, except for these matters: a man shooting arrows with his bow, training his horse, and playing with his wife—these matters are true. And whoever, after learning the art of archery, forgets it, he has shown ingratitude for what he was taught. In one narration it is mentioned: When Sayyiduna Uqbah (may Allah be pleased with him) passed away, he had sixty-four, sixty-five, or seventy-four, seventy-five bows with him, each bow with a quiver and Arabic arrows, and he had made a will regarding them that they were to be dedicated in the way of Allah.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Khalid bin Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him), who says: Sayyiduna Uqbah (may Allah be pleased with him) would come to me and say: Come outside, let us practice archery. One day I delayed or showed laziness in coming out, so he said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Indeed, Allah Almighty will admit three persons into Paradise because of a single arrow. Then he mentioned a hadith similar to the previous one, except that its last words are as follows: And whoever Allah Almighty has taught archery, but he abandons it out of disinterest, then in fact he has shown ingratitude for a blessing.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Abyssinians were playing with weapons of war (in Masjid Nabawi) in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). When Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came, he bent down to pick up pebbles to hit them, but the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O Umar! Let them play.