Part 9 Magic & Fortune Tellers & Omens

The Ahadeeth of Tawheed

from the

Silsilah Ahadeeth As-Saheehah

 of

Shaykh Al-Albaani

 Translated by

Abbas Abu Yahya

Chapters of Tawheed and the Shahadtayn

Part 9

26 Magic & Fortune Tellers & Omens

2650 - 'Whoever performs magic is not from us, (or has magic done for him), or performs fortune telling or has his fortune told for him, or believes in omens or has an omen done for him.'

793 - ' Whoever acquires knowledge from the stars, has acquired a branch of magic.'

762 - 'The Messenger of Allaah never used to seek omens from anything. If he would send a worker, he would ask about his name, if he liked his name it would make him happy, and happiness could be seen on his face.  If he disliked his name, dislike could be seen on his face.

And if he entered a village he would ask about its name, if he liked its name, it would make him happy and happiness could be seen on his face, and if he disliked its name, dislike could be seen on his face.'

777 - 'The Messenger was an optimist and did not believe in omens, and he admired the name al-Hasan.'

780 - 'There is no contagious disease that is transferred except by Allaah's permission. Nor is there the belief of when seeing or hearing an owl that it is the announcement of someone's death. Nor is there the belief of being pessimistic about the month of Safar.  And fear the leper like you fear a lion.'

781-'There is no contagious disease that is transferred except by Allaah's permission. Nor is there any effective omen, and the evil eye is true.'

782 - 'There is no contagious disease that is transferred except by Allaah's permission. Nor is there any effective omen, nor the belief of being pessimistic about the month of Safar. Nor the belief of when seeing or hearing an owl is the announcement of someone's death.  A Bedouin said: what about camels which are out in the desert, like Gazelles, and they mix with a mangy camel and it affects them.'

The Messenger - sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam – said: 'Who affected the first one?'

783 - 'There is no contagious disease that is transferred except by Allaah's permission, nor is there any effective omen. Nor the belief of when seeing or hearing an owl that it is the announcement of someone's death. Nor the belief of being pessimistic about the month of Safar, run away from the leper like you run away from the lion.'

784- 'There is no contagious disease that is transferred except by Allaah's permission, nor any effective omen, nor a species from the Jinn and Shayateen which is claimed that it misguides people from the path and destroys them.'

785- 'There is no contagious disease that is transferred except by Allaah's permission. Nor the belief of being pessimistic about the month of Safar. Nor the belief of when seeing or hearing an owl that it is the announcement of someone's death.'

786- 'There is no contagious disease that is transferred except by Allaah's permission, nor any effective omen, and I admire good optimism; which would be a good saying.'

787- 'There is no contagious disease that is transferred except by Allaah's permission, nor any effective omen, and I love good optimism.'

788- 'There is no contagious disease that is transferred except by Allaah's permission, nor any effective omen, certainly you find pessimism in three things: a woman, a horse and a house.'

789- 'There is no contagious disease that is transferred except by Allaah's permission, nor any effective omen, nor the belief of when seeing or hearing an owl that it is the announcement of someone's death, if there was to be an omen in something, then it would be in a horse a woman and a house. 

And if you hear about the plague in a place then do not enter in to it, and if there is a plague in a place and you are in it, then do not leave that place.'

993- 'The people of Jahileeyah used to say: 'There are omens in a house, in a woman and a horse.' 

The origins of the hadeeth:

Two men from Bani 'Aamir entered upon 'Ayesha, they told her that Abu Huraira narrates on the authority of the Prophet-sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam - that he said: 'The people of Jahileeyah used to say: 'There are omens in a house, in a woman and a horse.'

She became very angry; half of her flew to the sky, and half to the earth.

She said : I swear by the One Who sent down the Furqaan  (the criterion)to Muhammad, that the Messenger never ever said this, rather what he said was: 'the people of jahileeyah used to seek omens from that.'

And in the narration of Ahmad:

'But the Prophet of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam - used to say: the people of jahileeyah used to say: Omens are in a woman, a house and a riding animal. Then 'Ayesha read <<No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves but is inscribed in the Book of Decrees (Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz)>> to the end of the Ayaah.'

And it was narrated by al-Hakim (2/479) and he said:  'authentic Isnaad' and ad-Dhahabi agreed with him, it is as they said it was, rather it is upon the conditions of Muslim.

What supports this narration is what at-Tayaalisee narrated in his 'Musnad' (1537): Muhammad bin Raashid narrated to us on the authority of Makhool, it was said to 'Ayesha : that Abu Huraira says: that the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam -  said;  'Pessimism is found in three things: in a house, a woman and a horse.'  

'Ayesha said: Abu Huraira did not memorize this, because when he entered, the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam - was saying: May Allaah curse the Jews; they say: 'Without doubt pessimism is in a house, a woman and a horse,' so he heard the end of the hadeeth, and he never heard the beginning of it.'

To sum up, the narrators had differed in the wording of the hadeeth, some of them narrated it as in the chapter heading.

There are narrators who mentioned this saying with an extra wording in the beginning of the hadeeth. This indicates that there are no omens or pessimism (and they have the same meaning like the scholars have said). This is what the majority of narrators were upon.

Therefore their narration is the stronger opinion, since they have more information/knowledge, so it is obligatory to accept it.

Certainly what supports this opinion is the hadeeth of 'Ayesha, which is the one where the people of jahileeyah are those who said that Omens are in a woman, a house and a riding animal.

Zarkashee said in 'al-Ejabah' (p.128) : 'Some of the scholars have said: The narration of 'Ayesha regarding this matter resembles the truth InshAllaah (i.e. More than the hadeeth of Abu Huraira) due to it being in agreement with the prohibition of the Messenger of Allaah - alayhi as-Sallat wa sallam of believing in omens, which is a general prohibition, disliking them and persuasion in leaving them, due to the saying of the Messenger : 'Seventy thousand people will enter Paradise without being taken into account.  They are those who don't seek cauterization,(and in the original text: do not hoard up wealth) do not request Ruqya, nor do they believe in omens, and they rely upon their Lord.''

I say: he indicates by his saying: 'Some of the scholars' to Imaam at-Tahawee -may Allaah have mercy upon him.  At-Tahawee favours the previously mentioned hadeeth of 'Ayesha in 'Mushkil al-Athaar', and similarly in 'Sharh al-Ma'aani' and he ended his research about this subject with this hadeeth.

He said regarding the hadeeth of Sa'ad, and about those which are similar in meaning:

'What is indicated in this hadeeth is  different to what is indicated before it in other hadeeth, (I mean, the hadeeth of Ibn Umar, narrated by 'Utbah bin Muslim and that which has the same meaning on the authority of Ibn Umar), that is due to Sa'ad scolding Sa'eed when he mentioned to him about omens, he informed him on the authority  of the Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam -  that he said : 'There are no omens,' then he said: If there were omens in anything, it would be in a woman, a horse and in a house.' 

However he did not say that omens are in these things. Rather what he said was if there were omens in things they would be in those, i.e. if there were to be in anything they would be in those things. So if they were not in these things, then they would not be in anything.'

All Praise belongs to Allaah, may His peace and blessings be upon our final Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions and all those who follow his guidance.