The Ruling on Superstition (Bad Shagoon) in Islam: In Light of Qur’an and Ḥadīth
Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Vol. 1, Page 230
❖ Question
Respected scholars of Islam are requested to explain: Some people adopt superstitions (badshagoon) for themselves. What is the ruling on this in the light of Qur’an and Sunnah?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
Superstition is taken from places, times, locations, or people. It is among the delusions carried over from ancient customs.
❖ Mention in the Qur’an
The people of Ṣāliḥ (عليه السلام) said to him:
﴿طَّيَّرنا بِكَ وَبِمَن مَعَكَ﴾ (Sūrah al-Naml)
“We consider you and those with you an evil omen.”
Similarly, Pharaoh and his people, when afflicted with calamities, blamed Mūsā (عليه السلام) and his companions:
﴿يَطَّيَّروا بِموسىٰ وَمَن مَعَهُ﴾ (Sūrah al-Aʿrāf)
Other disbelievers, steeped in misguidance, also used to say during hardships:
﴿اِنَّا طَّيَّرنا بِكُمْ﴾ (Sūrah Yāsīn)
“We consider you an evil omen for us.”
The Prophets (عليهم السلام) would reply:
﴿طَائِرُكُم مَعَكُم﴾ (Yāsīn)
“Your omen is with yourselves.”
Meaning, your misfortune is tied to you; its cause is your disbelief, stubbornness, and rebellion.
❖ Beliefs of the Age of Ignorance and Islam’s Reform
In the Age of Ignorance, Arabs held various beliefs regarding superstitions, but Islam declared all of them false and guided people to reason and reality.
The Noble Prophet ﷺ said:
ليس منا من تطير او تطيرله تكهن له او سحر او سحر له (Ṭabarānī)
“He is not from among us who takes bad omens, or for whom bad omens are taken, or for whom soothsaying is done, or who practices magic, or for whom magic is done.”
The Prophet ﷺ also said:
العيافة والطيرة والطرق من الجبت (Abū Dāwūd, Nasā’ī, Ibn Ḥibbān)
“Taking omens from birds, superstitions, and throwing pebbles for omens are all Jibt (false superstition).”
❖ The Reality of Superstition
◈ Superstition is based neither on knowledge nor on facts.
◈ It is merely the result of weakness, delusion, and false imagination.
◈ How can a rational person believe that a certain person or place is unlucky, or that a bird’s call, an eye’s movement, or hearing a word can bring harm?
The truth is:
- If weakness and fear exist in the heart, they encourage superstition.
- A believer must not yield to such weakness.
- One must immediately dismiss the illusion of superstition.
Hādhā mā ʿindī, wallāhu aʿlam biṣ-ṣawāb.
