Divination and Omens (Kitab Al-Kahanah Wa Al-Tatayyur)

Musa ibn Ismaʿil narrated to us: Hammad narrated to us. Musaddad narrated to us: Yahya narrated to us, from Hammad ibn Salamah, from Hakim al-Athram, from Abu Tamimah, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever goes to a soothsayer...” In the narration of Musa he added: “and believes what he says.” Then they agreed on: “or approaches a woman...” Musaddad said: “his wife while she is menstruating, or approaches a woman...” Musaddad said: “his wife in her anus”—has disavowed what was sent down to Muhammad ﷺ.

Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah and Musaddad narrated to us—the meaning is the same. They said: Yahya narrated to us, from ʿUbayd Allah ibn al-Akhnas, from al-Walid ibn ʿAbd Allah, from Yusuf ibn Mahak, from Ibn ʿAbbas, who said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever acquires knowledge from astrology has acquired a branch of magic, and the more he increases in it, the more he increases in that.”

Al-Qaʿnabi narrated to us, from Malik, from Salih ibn Kaysan, from ʿUbayd Allah ibn ʿAbd Allah, from Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhani, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ led us in the dawn prayer at al-Hudaybiyah after rain had fallen during the night. When he finished, he turned to the people and said: “Do you know what your Lord has said?” They replied: “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said: “This morning some of My servants believe in Me and disbelieve. Whoever says, «We received rain by the grace and mercy of Allah,» believes in Me and disbelieves in the stars. Whoever says, «We received rain because of such and such a star,» disbelieves in Me and believes in the star.”

Musaddad narrated to us: Yahya narrated to us: ʿAwf narrated to us: Hayyan narrated to us—someone other than Musaddad said: Hayyan ibn al-ʿAlaʾ—from Qatan ibn Qabisah, from his father, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: “Bird augury, taking omens, and geomancy are among false divination.” He explained: Tarq is bird augury, and ʿiyafah is drawing lines.

Ibn Bashshar narrated to us, who said: Muhammad ibn Jaʿfar said: ʿAwf said: “ʿIyafah is driving birds away; tarq is lines drawn on the ground.”

Musaddad narrated to us: Yahya narrated to us, from al-Hajjaj al-Sawwaf: Yahya ibn Abi Kathir narrated to me, from Hilal ibn Abi Maymunah, from ʿAtaʾ ibn Yasar, from Muʿawiyah ibn al-Hakam al-Sulami, who said: I asked, “Messenger of Allah, there are men among us who draw lines.” He replied: “There was a prophet among the prophets who drew lines. Whoever matches his lines, that is the way.”

Muhammad ibn Kathir narrated to us: Sufyan informed us, from Salamah ibn Kuhayl, from ʿIsa ibn ʿAsim, from Zirr ibn Hubaysh, from ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿud, from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who said: “Taking omens is shirk. Taking omens is shirk.” He said this three times. Then he said: “There is none of us except that something of it occurs to him, but Allah removes it through reliance upon Him.”

Muhammad ibn al-Mutawakkil al-ʿAsqalani and al-Hasan ibn ʿAli narrated to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzaq narrated to us: Maʿmar informed us, from al-Zuhri, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurayrah, who said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “There is no contagion, no taking omens, no Safar, and no Hamah.” A Bedouin said: “Why is it that camels in the sand look like gazelles, then a mangy camel mixes among them and gives them mange?” He replied: “Who infected the first one?” Maʿmar said: al-Zuhri said: A man narrated to me, from Abu Hurayrah, that he heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: “A sick camel must not be brought to a healthy one.” The man questioned him: “Did you not tell us that the Prophet ﷺ said, «There is no contagion, no Safar, and no Hamah»?” He replied: “I did not narrate that to you.” Al-Zuhri said: Abu Salamah said: He did narrate it, and I never heard Abu Hurayrah forget a hadith except this one.

Al-Qaʿnabi narrated to us: ʿAbd al-ʿAziz—that is, Ibn Muhammad—narrated to us, from al-ʿAlaʾ, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah, who said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “There is no contagion, no Hamah, no rain-bringing star, and no Safar.”

Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Rahim ibn al-Barqi reported to us that Saʿid ibn al-Hakam narrated to them: Yahya ibn Ayyub informed us: Ibn ʿAjlan narrated to me: al-Qaʿqaʿ ibn Hakim, ʿUbayd Allah ibn Miqsam, and Zayd ibn Aslam narrated to me, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “There is no ghoul.”

Abu Dawud said: This was read to al-Harith ibn Miskin while I was present. Ashhab informed you, saying: Malik was asked about the words “There is no Safar.” He said: The people of the pre-Islamic era used to treat Safar as permissible, making it permissible one year and forbidden the next. The Prophet ﷺ said: “There is no Safar.”

Muhammad ibn al-Musaffa narrated to us: Baqiyyah narrated to us, saying: I asked Muhammad—that is, Ibn Rashid—about the word “Hamah.” He said: The people of the pre-Islamic era used to say that when someone died and was buried, a bird would emerge from his grave. I asked him about the word “Safar.” He said: I heard that the people of the pre-Islamic era considered Safar an ill omen, so the Prophet ﷺ said: “There is no Safar.” Muhammad said: We also heard someone say it was a pain in the stomach, which they claimed was contagious. So he said: “There is no Safar.”

Muslim ibn Ibrahim narrated to us: Hisham narrated to us, from Qatadah, from Anas, that the Prophet ﷺ said: “There is no contagion and no taking omens. I like a good omen, and a good omen is a good word.”

Musa ibn Ismaʿil narrated to us: Wuhayb narrated to us, from Suhayl, from a man, from Abu Hurayrah: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ heard a word and liked it, and said: “We have taken your good omen from your mouth.”

Yahya ibn Khalaf narrated to us: Abu ʿAsim narrated to us: Ibn Jurayj narrated to us, from ʿAtaʾ, who said: People say that Safar is a pain that affects the stomach. I asked: “What is the Hamah?” He said: People say that the Hamah that cries out is the soul of a person. It is not the human soul; it is only an animal.

Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated to us—the meaning is the same. They said: Wakiʿ narrated to us, from Sufyan, from Habib ibn Abi Thabit, from ʿUrwah ibn ʿAmir—Ahmad said al-Qurashi—who said: Omens were mentioned in the presence of the Prophet ﷺ, and he said: “The best of them is a good omen, and it does not turn a Muslim back. If one of you sees something he dislikes, let him say: «O Allah, none brings good things except You, none averts evil things except You, and there is no might or power except through You.»”

Muslim ibn Ibrahim narrated to us: Hisham narrated to us, from Qatadah, from ʿAbd Allah ibn Buraydah, from his father: The Prophet ﷺ would not take omens from anything. When he sent out an official, he would ask his name. If he liked the name, he was pleased, and his delight could be seen on his face. If he disliked the name, his displeasure could be seen on his face. When he entered a village, he would ask its name. If he liked the name, he was pleased and his delight could be seen on his face; if he disliked it, his displeasure could be seen on his face.

Musa ibn Ismaʿil narrated to us: Aban narrated to us: Yahya narrated to me, that al-Hadrami ibn Lahiq narrated to him, from Saʿid ibn al-Musayyab, from Saʿd ibn Malik: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to say: “There is no Hamah and no contagion and no taking omens. If there were an omen in anything, it would be in a horse, a woman, or a house.”

Al-Qaʿnabi narrated to us: Malik narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, from Hamzah and Salim, the two sons of ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar, from ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Ill omen is in a house, a woman, and a horse.” Abu Dawud said: This was read to al-Harith ibn Miskin while I was present. Ibn al-Qasim informed him that Malik was asked about the ill omen in a horse and a house. He replied: “How many houses have people lived in and died, then others lived in them and died. That, as we see it, is its explanation; Allah knows best.” Abu Dawud said: ʿUmar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “A mat in the house is better than a woman who does not bear children.”