Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 914
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللهِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَامِرٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ، عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ أَبِي كَثِيرٍ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي حَيَّةُ التَّمِيمِيُّ، أَنَّ أَبَاهُ أَخْبَرَهُ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ: لاَ شَيْءَ فِي الْهَامِّ، وَأَصْدَقُ الطِّيَرَةِ الْفَأْلُ، وَالْعَيْنُ حَقٌّ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Abdullah ibn Muhammad related to us, saying: Abu ‘Amir related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubarak related to us, from Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, who said: Hayya al-Tamimi related to me that his father informed him that he heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say: “There is nothing in hama; the truest fa’l is the hopeful sign, and the evil eye is real.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
Hama refers to a pre-Islamic superstition associated with an owl or the spirit of a slain person; the Arabic wording here simply negates it.
لاَ شَيْءَ فِي الْهَامِّ
Hama carries a historical range of meanings, including an owl or an avenging spirit; the Arabic only states that there is nothing in hama.
Should an explanatory gloss be used instead of the witness’s specific “avenging spirit”?