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الادب المفرد
Adab al-Mufrad
كتابBook of Attributing Rain
بَابُ الطِّيَرَةِChapter: Superstition (Tiyarah)
Hadith 910
اُردوEn
حَدَّثَنَا الْحَكَمُ بْنُ نَافِعٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا شُعَيْبٌ، يَعْنِي: عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنِي عُبَيْدُ اللهِ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ عُتْبَةَ، أَنَّ أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: ”لَا طِيَرَةَ، وَخَيْرُهَا الْفَأْلُ“، قَالُوا: وَمَا الْفَأْلُ؟ قَالَ: ”كَلِمَةٌ صَالِحَةٌ يَسْمَعُهَا أَحَدُكُمْ.“
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: "There is nothing in bad omens; the best of it is optimism." The Companions asked: What is optimism? He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "A good word that any one of you hears."
Explanation & Benefits
Shaykh Maulana Usman Muneeb
Benefits and Issues:
➊ "Tiyarah" (bad omen) refers to having a negative assumption—that is, to think ill, and in this, a bad assumption is made about Allah Ta'ala, that He will bring about some calamity, even though there is no solid reason for it. And "faal" (omen) is generally used for good assumptions, although this word is also used for bad omens.
➋ In the era of ignorance (Jahiliyyah), people would make a bird fly before starting a journey. If it flew to the right, they would take it as a good omen and begin the journey; if it flew to the left, they would not start the journey due to the bad omen, as if the bird has knowledge of good or bad, and thus one could avoid harm. Both of these matters are acts of shirk (associating partners with Allah).
➌ "Faal" (omen) is that you meet a person and his name is very good, so you take it as a good omen that the rest of the matters will also be easy, just as the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) took a good omen at the time of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah when Suhail bin Amr came on behalf of the polytheists, saying that now your matter will become easy, because "Suhail" is derived from "sahl," which means ease.
In summary, there is no harm in taking a good omen, however, to refrain from an action due to a bad omen is shirk.
➊ "Tiyarah" (bad omen) refers to having a negative assumption—that is, to think ill, and in this, a bad assumption is made about Allah Ta'ala, that He will bring about some calamity, even though there is no solid reason for it. And "faal" (omen) is generally used for good assumptions, although this word is also used for bad omens.
➋ In the era of ignorance (Jahiliyyah), people would make a bird fly before starting a journey. If it flew to the right, they would take it as a good omen and begin the journey; if it flew to the left, they would not start the journey due to the bad omen, as if the bird has knowledge of good or bad, and thus one could avoid harm. Both of these matters are acts of shirk (associating partners with Allah).
➌ "Faal" (omen) is that you meet a person and his name is very good, so you take it as a good omen that the rest of the matters will also be easy, just as the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) took a good omen at the time of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah when Suhail bin Amr came on behalf of the polytheists, saying that now your matter will become easy, because "Suhail" is derived from "sahl," which means ease.
In summary, there is no harm in taking a good omen, however, to refrain from an action due to a bad omen is shirk.
Source: Fadlullah al-Ahad: Urdu Commentary on al-Adab al-Mufrad, Page: 910
