Riyadh al-Salihin from the words of the Master of the Messengers, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
Chapter: The Prohibition of Visiting Soothsayers, Astrologers, and Diviners.
And those who practice geomancy, or interpret signs through pebbles, barley, and the like.
On the authority of ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said:
Some people asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, about soothsayers.
He replied, "They are nothing." They said, "O Messenger of Allah,
they sometimes tell us something that turns out to be true."
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"That is a word of truth that the jinn snatches away,
whispers it into the ear of his protégé, and they mix a hundred lies with it."
Agreed upon.
In a narration by al-Bukhari, on the authority of ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
she heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, say:
"The angels descend to the clouds—which are the vapor—
and discuss the matters decreed in heaven.
The devil eavesdrops, hears it, and inspires it to the soothsayers,
who then add a hundred lies of their own to it."
His phrase "whispers it" means he casts it into their ear.
"Snatching" means taking it quickly.
"His protégé" refers to the soothsayer whom the jinn uses.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The prohibition of visiting soothsayers.
A stern warning against believing what soothsayers say or report,
even if some of it happens to be true.
What is true in the words of soothsayers is merely what the jinn has eavesdropped.
The jinn take humans as protégés.
In the pre-Islamic era (Jahiliyyah), the jinn would sit in positions below the lowest heaven,
listening to the Higher Assembly.
But when the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was sent,
they were prevented and began to be pelted with shooting stars.
So they resorted to eavesdropping.
On the authority of Safiyyah bint Abi ‘Ubayd,
from some of the wives of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
may Allah be pleased with them,
from the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who said:
"Whoever visits a diviner and asks him about something, and then believes him,
his prayer will not be accepted for forty days."
Narrated by Muslim.
The diviner (‘arraf)
is one who claims to know the location of stolen items, lost property, and the like,
through methods and premises he claims to possess.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The prohibition of visiting soothsayers and diviners.
Visiting a diviner or soothsayer and approaching them is a destructive sin,
even if one does not believe them.
This is indicated by several points:
Among them:
That believing them is disbelief (kufr),
as has been authentically reported from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
That visiting them nullifies one’s deeds and voids the reward.
"Whoever visits a diviner, Allah will not accept his prayer for forty days,"
meaning its reward is nullified and its blessing is erased,
as if he had not prayed it at all.
However, the obligation is still lifted from him,
because none of the scholars have required him to make them up.
On the authority of Qabisah ibn al-Mukhariq, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, say:
"Augury, taking omens from birds, and geomancy are all from the Jibt (idolatrous practices)."
Narrated by Abu Dawud.
"Geomancy" (al-tarq) refers to augury by birds,
meaning the interpretation of bird movements.
It is to consider a bird’s flight as a good or bad omen.
If it flies to the right, he takes it as a good omen,
and if it flies to the left, he takes it as a bad omen.
Abu Dawud said:
"Augury" (al-‘iyafah)
is drawing lines in the sand.
Al-Jawhari said in al-Sihah:
"The Jibt"
is a term applied to idols, soothsayers, sorcerers, and the like.
Omens (al-tiyarah)
are bad omens.
From the benefits of the hadith:
These three matters, according to the meanings mentioned,
are false.
They are types of soothsaying practiced by the people of the Jahiliyyah,
which Islam rejected, invalidated, and forbade.
On the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"Whoever acquires a branch of knowledge from the stars,
has acquired a branch of sorcery;
the more he increases, the more he increases [in sin]."
Narrated by Abu Dawud.
"Acquires" means gains or learns.
"Branch" means a portion.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The prohibition of sorcery.
It has already been established that it is one of the destructive, ruinous sins.
Astrology in all its forms is forbidden because it is a type of sorcery.
It is forbidden to believe astrologers,
for they are deceitful sorcerers.
Astrology is different from the science of astronomy.
On the authority of Mu‘awiyah ibn al-Hakam, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
I said, "O Messenger of Allah,
I am recently removed from the Jahiliyyah,
and Allah the Exalted has brought Islam.
There are men among us who visit soothsayers."
He said, "Do not visit them."
I said, "And there are men among us who take bad omens."
He said, "That is something they find in their hearts,
so let it not turn them away."
I said, "And there are men among us who draw lines in the sand."
He said, "There was a prophet among the prophets who used to draw lines,
so whoever’s lines match his, then that is acceptable."
Narrated by Muslim.
On the authority of Abu Mas‘ud al-Badri, may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Messenger of Allah forbade the price of a dog,
the earnings of a prostitute,
and the fee of a soothsayer.
Agreed upon.
"The price of a dog"
means selling it and taking its price.
"The earnings of a prostitute"
means what is given to an adulteress for her adultery.
He called it "earnings" (mahr),
because it is wealth she takes in exchange for allowing access to herself,
so it is in the form of a dowry.
"The fee of a soothsayer"
means what he is given for his soothsaying,
because of the news he gives to the seeker.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The prohibition of selling a dog and taking its price.
It has been authentically reported that if someone comes to you asking for its price,
fill his hands with dirt.
The price of a dog, what an adulteress takes for her adultery,
and what a soothsayer takes for his soothsaying
are vile earnings.
Contracts are considered valid in Shari‘ah
based on their permissible realities,
not their outward forms.
Chapter: The Prohibition of Taking Bad Omens (Tiyarah).
It contains the previous hadiths from the preceding chapter.
On the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"There is no contagion and no bad omens,
but I like good omens (fa’l)."
They asked, "And what is a good omen?"
He said,
"A good word."
Agreed upon.
"No contagion"
means no disease spreads by itself, contrary to the belief of the early Jahiliyyah,
or the whispers of the physicians of this century.
"Good omen" (fa’l)
is hearing pleasant words and feeling optimistic because of them.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The negation of contagion as the origin of disease,
as if it were infectious by its own nature,
as was the belief of the early Jahiliyyah.
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
forbade the mixing of the sick with the healthy,
as in his saying:
"Let not a sick person be brought to a healthy one."
And his saying:
"Flee from the leper as you would flee from a lion."
This indicates that diseases are transmitted from the sick to the healthy,
but it is all by the decree of Allah.
The prohibition of taking bad omens and pessimism.
The recommendation of a good omen.
It is a good word that a person hears,
and he feels optimistic because of it.
Like someone who is sick and hears, "O Salim (the healthy one),"
"O Mu‘afa (the cured one),"
so he takes it as a good sign,
and believes he will be cured by the permission of Allah.
The recommendation of bringing joy to the Muslims.
This includes speaking in a way that inspires happiness and hope in the soul,
and the dislike of the opposite.
On the authority of Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"There is no contagion and no bad omens.
If there were to be bad luck in anything,
it would be in the house, the woman, and the horse."
Agreed upon.
"Bad luck" (shu’m) means evil,
and "pessimism" means expecting it to happen.
The meaning of the hadith:
That the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
negated and forbade bad omens and pessimism.
Then he said:
"If there were to be bad omens in anything,
it would be in the horse, the woman, and the house."
He did not state that it exists in them,
but rather he said:
"If it were to be in anything, it would be in them."
Meaning, if it were to exist in anything,
it would be in these.
So if it does not exist in these three,
then it does not exist in anything.
On the authority of Buraydah, may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
would not take bad omens.
Narrated by Abu Dawud.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The obligation to follow the example of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
And the dislike of taking bad omens and pessimism.
On the authority of ‘Urwah ibn ‘Amir, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
Bad omens were mentioned in the presence of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
He said:
The best of it is optimism.
Do not turn away a Muslim.
If one of you sees something he dislikes,
let him say:
O Allah, none brings about good except You,
and none repels evil except You,
and there is no power and no strength except by You.
It was recorded by Abu Dawud.
Among the benefits of this hadith
is that the term 'tira' (omen) is used for both optimism and pessimism.
It is part of a Muslim's character
to be optimistic and not pessimistic.
One should seek the aid of Allah the Exalted and turn to Him
to repel the evil of whatever one fears might bring harm.
It is recommended to say 'There is no power and no strength except by Allah'
when encountering things that people usually view as ominous,
or when something occurs in one's soul.
Riyad al-Salihin.