Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 910
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 صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ: لاَ طِيَرَةَ، وَخَيْرُهَا الْفَأْلُ، قَالُوا: وَمَا الْفَأْلُ؟ قَالَ: كَلِمَةٌ صَالِحَةٌ يَسْمَعُهَا أَحَدُكُمْ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Al-Hakam ibn Nafi‘ related to us, saying: Shu‘ayb informed us—meaning from al-Zuhri, who said: ‘Ubaydullah ibn ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Utba informed me that Abu Hurayra said: I heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say: “There is no belief in omens; the best kind is fa’l [a hopeful sign].” They asked: “What is fa’l?” He replied: “A good word that one of you hears.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Fa’l is a favorable word or hopeful sign, distinguished from superstitious reliance on omens.
لاَ طِيَرَةَ، وَخَيْرُهَا الْفَأْلُ
The witness omits the negation in لا طيرة (“there is no [valid] omen-belief”) and renders the phrase as a fragment.
Should the negation and contrast with fa’l be made explicit?