What is the legal basis for employing the lottery (*qur'ah*) in general matters?

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The lottery is established by the Quran and the Sunnah, and there is scholarly consensus on its use in division. The Quran mentions it in the context of casting lots, such as when determining who would sponsor Maryam (Quran 3:44), and in the story of Prophet Yunus (Quran 37:141). The Sunnah includes five instances mentioned by Imam Ahmad: the Prophet cast lots among his wives, among the six slaves, instructed two men to cast lots, likened those who compromise divine limits to people drawing lots for a ship, and stated that people would cast lots for the call to prayer and the first row. The story of finding two shrouds for Hamzah, one larger than the other, and drawing lots to assign them is also evidence, as is the drawing of lots between Sa'd and another man for the right to pronounce the call to prayer at the Battle of al-Qadisiyyah. Scholars agree on its use in partition, and when selecting one wife for travel, or when allocating guardianship for marriage or execution of retribution when claimants are equal.