Praise be to Allaah.
What is proven in the Sunnah is that it is forbidden to
believe in bad omens (tatayyur) or warn others about them, and that this
is a kind of shirk. For example, al-Bukhaari (5776) and Muslim (2224)
narrated from Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the
Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: “There is no ‘adwa
(transmission of infectious disease without the permission of Allaah) and
no tiyarah (superstitious belief in bird omens), but I like
optimism.” They said, “What is optimism?” He said, “A good word.”
Ahmad (4194), Abu Dawood (3910), al-Tirmidhi (1614) and Ibn
Maajah (3538) narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood said: The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Tiyarah (belief
in evil omens) is shirk.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi
Dawood.
Ahmad (7045) and al-Tabaraani narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn
‘Amr said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: “Whoever lets tiyarah stop him from doing something is guilty
of shirk.” They said, “What is the kafaarah for that?” He said, “To say:
Allaahumma la khayra illaa khayruka wa laa tayra illaa tayruka wa laa
ilaaha ghayruka (O Allaah, there is no good except Your good, no birds
(omens) except from You, and there is no god beside You).” [Classed as
hasan by al-Arna’oot and as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’,
no. 6264]
Al-Tabaraani narrated in al-Kabeer from ‘Imraan ibn
Husayn that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: “He is not one of us who practices augury [seeking omens in
birds] or has that done for him, or who practices divination or has that
done for him, or who practices witchcraft or has that done for him.”
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 5435.
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in Sharh
Muslim, no. 2224:
Tatayyur (belief in bad omens) is pessimism, and is based
on something disliked, be it a word or action or something seen… They used
to startle birds to make them move; if they went to the right they would
regard that as a good omen and go ahead with their journeys or other
plans, but if they went to the left they would cancel their journeys and
plans, and regard that as a bad omen. So it would often prevent them from
doing things that were in their interests. Islam cancelled out all that
and forbade it, and said that it had no effect, whether good or bad. This
is what is meant by the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him): “There is no tiyarah (superstitious belief in bird
omens),” and in another hadeeth, “Tiyarah is shirk” – i.e., the belief
that it can bring benefit or harm, if they act upon it believing that it
has any effect, then this is shirk, because they think that it has an
effect on what one does or that it can make things happen.
This is the basic principle regarding bad omens (tatayyur).
But there are ahaadeeth which indicate that a bad omen may be in a woman,
a house or a horse.
Al-Bukhaari (5093) and Muslim (2252) narrated from
‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both) that the
Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: “Bad omens are in a woman, a house and a horse.”
Al-Bukhaari (5094) and Muslim, (2252) narrated that Ibn
‘Umar said: Mention of bad omens was made in the presence of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), and the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: “If bad omens are to be found in anything, it is in a house, a
woman and a horse.”
Abu Dawood (3924) narrated that Anas ibn Maalik said: A man
said: “O Messenger of Allaah, we were in a house and our numbers and
wealth were great, then we moved to another house where our numbers and
wealth decreased.” The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said, “Leave it, it is bad.” This hadeeth was classed as hasan by
al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
The scholars differed concerning these ahaadeeth and how to
reconcile them with the ahaadeeth that forbid tatayyur. Some of them
interpreted them as they appear to be, and said that this is an exception
from the ruling on tatayyur, i.e., that tatayyur is forbidden unless a
person has a house which he does not want to live in, or a wife whom he
does not want to keep company with, or a horse or servant, all of which he
should get rid of by selling them, or by divorcing the wife.
Others said that a house may be regarded as a bad omen when
it is too small, or there are bad neighbours who cause trouble; a woman
may be regarded as a bad omen when she does not produce children, or she
has a sharp tongue, or she behaves in a suspicious manner; a horse may be
regarded as a bad omen when it is not used in jihad, or it was said, when
it is difficult to handle or it is too expensive; and a servant may be
regarded as a bad omen when he has a bad attitude or is not trustworthy or
reliable.
Sharh al-Nawawi ‘ala Muslim.
The correct view is that all types of belief in bad omens
are condemned, and that no kinds of women, houses or animals can cause
harm or bring benefit except by Allaah’s leave. Allaah is the Creator of
both good and evil. A person may be tested with a wife who has a bad
attitude, or a house in which there is a lot of problems, in which case it
is prescribed for him to rid himself of these things, fleeing from the
decree of Allaah to the decree of Allaah, and so as to avoid falling into
pessimism and belief in bad omens which is forbidden.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
“Another group said: regarding these three as bad omens
only affects those who believe in that. Whoever puts his trust in Allaah
and does not believe in omens and superstition, that does not affect him.
They said: this is indicated by the hadeeth of Anas, ‘A bad omen only
affects the one who believes in it.’ If a person believes in bad omens,
Allaah may make that the cause of bad things happening to him, just as He
may make trust in Him and making Him alone the focus of one's fear and
hope one of the main causes of warding off evil that people may
superstitiously expect.
The reason for that is that tiyarah (superstitious belief
in omens) implies shirk or associating others with Allaah, fearing others
besides Him and not putting one’s trust in Him. The superstitious person
attracts evil to himself, so the superstition affects him more, because he
did not protect himself with belief in Allaah alone and trust in Allaah.
If a person fears something other than Allaah, it gains control over him
and he is tormented by it; if he loves something else as well as Allaah,
he will be tormented by it; if he puts his hope in something alongside
Allaah he will be let down by it. These matters are well known from real
life and there is no need to provide further evidence. Everyone inevitably
feels superstitious but the strong believer wards off those superstitious
feelings by putting his trust in Allaah. Whoever puts his trust in Allaah,
He will suffice him and he will have no need of anyone or anything else.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“So when you want to recite the Qur’aan, seek refuge
with Allaah from Shaytaan (Satan), the outcast (the cursed one).
Verily, he has no power over those who believe and put
their trust only in their Lord (Allaah).
His power is only
over those who obey and follow him (Satan), and those who join partners
with Him (Allaah, i.e. those who are Mushrikoon, i.e., polytheists)”
[al-Nahl 16:98]
Hence Ibn Mas’ood said: “All of us sometimes feel
superstitious, but Allaah causes it to disappear when we put our trust in
Him.” They said: superstition with regard to houses, women and horses may
affect only those who believe in it; as for the one who puts his trust in
Allaah and fears Him alone, and does not believe in bad omens, then
horses, women and houses cannot be bad omens for him.
Then he said:
Whoever believes that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) attributed a superstitious effect to anything in the sense that it
may have an effect in and of itself independently of Allaah is telling a
serious lie against Allaah and His Messenger and has gone far astray. His
speaking of bad omens existing in these three things does not constitute
proof of what he had denied before. All it means is that Allaah may a
superstitious effect in objects for those who come near them or live in
them, and there may be some blessing in some objects, and anyone who comes
nears them is not affected by bad omens or anything bad. This is like when
Allaah gives parents a blessed child and they experience goodness because
of him, whilst He gives others a mean child and they experience bad things
because of him. This applies to what may Allaah may bestow on His slave of
houses, wives and horses. Allaah is the Creator of good and evil, good
luck and bad luck. So some of these things may be “lucky” and blessed and
bring happiness for those who come into contact with them, so they are
blessed; and some of them may be “unlucky” and bring “bad luck” to those
who come into contact with them, all by the will and decree of Allaah,
just as He has created all other causes and effects which may vary. So He
has created musk and other fragrant substances, which give delight to all
those who come into contact with them, and He has created their opposites
which cause disgust to all those who come into contact with them. The
difference between the two types is known from experience. The same
applies to houses, women and horses. This is one thing, and the shirki
belief in bad omens is something else altogether.
He said concerning the Prophet’s command to that family to
leave that house, as mentioned in the hadeeth quoted above:
This is not the kind of superstition that is forbidden.
Rather he told them to leave it when they started to think along these
lines, in order to achieve two aims and two benefits:
1 – It was so that they would leave a place that they
disliked and felt scared in because of what had happened to them there, so
that they might find relief from the panic, grief and depression that
assailed them there, because Allaah has made it man’s nature to hate that
which causes him harm even though it is not the fault of that thing, and
to love that which brings him happiness, even though the thing itself does
not intend to do good. So he commanded them to leave that which they
disliked, because Allaah sent him as a mercy, and did not send him as a
torment. He sent him to make things easy, not to make things hard. So how
could he have told them to stay in a place where they were unhappy and
felt scared to stay because of the great losses they had suffered there,
when that would serve no purpose of worship or increase their piety or
guidance, especially when they had stayed there for so long after they had
begun to feel uncomfortable there which made them superstitious. So this
protected them from two serious things:
1 – Committing shirk
2 – Protecting them from something bad happening to them
because of their superstition, which usually affects those who believe in
it. So he protected them because of his great mercy and kindness from
these two disliked things, by telling them to leave that house and move to
another without any harm coming to them with regard to either their
worldly or religious interests.
Miftaah Daar al-Sa’aadah,
2/258
And Allaah knows best.
