Part of Riyad as-Salihin — Gardens of the Righteous (series completed)
· Lesson 165 of 190
Riyadh Al-Salehin | Episode (175) | Chapter on the prohibition of going to soothsayers
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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Riyadh al-Salihin from the words of the Master of the Messengers, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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Chapter: The Prohibition of Visiting Soothsayers, Astrologers, and Diviners.
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And those who practice geomancy, or interpret signs through pebbles, barley, and the like.
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On the authority of ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said:
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Some people asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, about soothsayers.
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He replied, "They are nothing." They said, "O Messenger of Allah,
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they sometimes tell us something that turns out to be true."
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The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
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"That is a word of truth that the jinn snatches away,
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whispers it into the ear of his protégé, and they mix a hundred lies with it."
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Agreed upon.
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In a narration by al-Bukhari, on the authority of ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
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she heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, say:
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"The angels descend to the clouds—which are the vapor—
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and discuss the matters decreed in heaven.
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The devil eavesdrops, hears it, and inspires it to the soothsayers,
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who then add a hundred lies of their own to it."
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His phrase "whispers it" means he casts it into their ear.
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"Snatching" means taking it quickly.
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"His protégé" refers to the soothsayer whom the jinn uses.
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From the benefits of the hadith:
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The prohibition of visiting soothsayers.
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A stern warning against believing what soothsayers say or report,
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even if some of it happens to be true.
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What is true in the words of soothsayers is merely what the jinn has eavesdropped.
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The jinn take humans as protégés.
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In the pre-Islamic era (Jahiliyyah), the jinn would sit in positions below the lowest heaven,
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listening to the Higher Assembly.
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But when the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was sent,
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they were prevented and began to be pelted with shooting stars.
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So they resorted to eavesdropping.
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On the authority of Safiyyah bint Abi ‘Ubayd,
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from some of the wives of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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may Allah be pleased with them,
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from the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who said:
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"Whoever visits a diviner and asks him about something, and then believes him,
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his prayer will not be accepted for forty days."
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Narrated by Muslim.
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The diviner (‘arraf)
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is one who claims to know the location of stolen items, lost property, and the like,
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through methods and premises he claims to possess.
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From the benefits of the hadith:
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The prohibition of visiting soothsayers and diviners.
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Visiting a diviner or soothsayer and approaching them is a destructive sin,
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even if one does not believe them.
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This is indicated by several points:
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Among them:
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That believing them is disbelief (kufr),
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as has been authentically reported from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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That visiting them nullifies one’s deeds and voids the reward.
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"Whoever visits a diviner, Allah will not accept his prayer for forty days,"
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meaning its reward is nullified and its blessing is erased,
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as if he had not prayed it at all.
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However, the obligation is still lifted from him,
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because none of the scholars have required him to make them up.
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On the authority of Qabisah ibn al-Mukhariq, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
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I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, say:
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"Augury, taking omens from birds, and geomancy are all from the Jibt (idolatrous practices)."
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Narrated by Abu Dawud.
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"Geomancy" (al-tarq) refers to augury by birds,
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meaning the interpretation of bird movements.
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It is to consider a bird’s flight as a good or bad omen.
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If it flies to the right, he takes it as a good omen,
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and if it flies to the left, he takes it as a bad omen.
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Abu Dawud said:
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"Augury" (al-‘iyafah)
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is drawing lines in the sand.
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Al-Jawhari said in al-Sihah:
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"The Jibt"
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is a term applied to idols, soothsayers, sorcerers, and the like.
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Omens (al-tiyarah)
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are bad omens.
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From the benefits of the hadith:
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These three matters, according to the meanings mentioned,
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are false.
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They are types of soothsaying practiced by the people of the Jahiliyyah,
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which Islam rejected, invalidated, and forbade.
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On the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
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The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
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"Whoever acquires a branch of knowledge from the stars,
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has acquired a branch of sorcery;
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the more he increases, the more he increases [in sin]."
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Narrated by Abu Dawud.
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"Acquires" means gains or learns.
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"Branch" means a portion.
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From the benefits of the hadith:
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The prohibition of sorcery.
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It has already been established that it is one of the destructive, ruinous sins.
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Astrology in all its forms is forbidden because it is a type of sorcery.
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It is forbidden to believe astrologers,
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for they are deceitful sorcerers.
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Astrology is different from the science of astronomy.
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On the authority of Mu‘awiyah ibn al-Hakam, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
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I said, "O Messenger of Allah,
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I am recently removed from the Jahiliyyah,
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and Allah the Exalted has brought Islam.
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There are men among us who visit soothsayers."
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He said, "Do not visit them."
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I said, "And there are men among us who take bad omens."
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He said, "That is something they find in their hearts,
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so let it not turn them away."
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I said, "And there are men among us who draw lines in the sand."
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He said, "There was a prophet among the prophets who used to draw lines,
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so whoever’s lines match his, then that is acceptable."
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Narrated by Muslim.
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On the authority of Abu Mas‘ud al-Badri, may Allah be pleased with him,
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that the Messenger of Allah forbade the price of a dog,
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the earnings of a prostitute,
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and the fee of a soothsayer.
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Agreed upon.
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"The price of a dog"
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means selling it and taking its price.
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"The earnings of a prostitute"
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means what is given to an adulteress for her adultery.
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He called it "earnings" (mahr),
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because it is wealth she takes in exchange for allowing access to herself,
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so it is in the form of a dowry.
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"The fee of a soothsayer"
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means what he is given for his soothsaying,
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because of the news he gives to the seeker.
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From the benefits of the hadith:
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The prohibition of selling a dog and taking its price.
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It has been authentically reported that if someone comes to you asking for its price,
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fill his hands with dirt.
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The price of a dog, what an adulteress takes for her adultery,
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and what a soothsayer takes for his soothsaying
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are vile earnings.
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Contracts are considered valid in Shari‘ah
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based on their permissible realities,
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not their outward forms.
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Chapter: The Prohibition of Taking Bad Omens (Tiyarah).
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It contains the previous hadiths from the preceding chapter.
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On the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
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The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
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"There is no contagion and no bad omens,
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but I like good omens (fa’l)."
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They asked, "And what is a good omen?"
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He said,
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"A good word."
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Agreed upon.
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"No contagion"
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means no disease spreads by itself, contrary to the belief of the early Jahiliyyah,
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or the whispers of the physicians of this century.
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"Good omen" (fa’l)
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is hearing pleasant words and feeling optimistic because of them.
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From the benefits of the hadith:
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The negation of contagion as the origin of disease,
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as if it were infectious by its own nature,
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as was the belief of the early Jahiliyyah.
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The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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forbade the mixing of the sick with the healthy,
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as in his saying:
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"Let not a sick person be brought to a healthy one."
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And his saying:
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"Flee from the leper as you would flee from a lion."
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This indicates that diseases are transmitted from the sick to the healthy,
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but it is all by the decree of Allah.
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The prohibition of taking bad omens and pessimism.
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The recommendation of a good omen.
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It is a good word that a person hears,
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and he feels optimistic because of it.
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Like someone who is sick and hears, "O Salim (the healthy one),"
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"O Mu‘afa (the cured one),"
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so he takes it as a good sign,
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and believes he will be cured by the permission of Allah.
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The recommendation of bringing joy to the Muslims.
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This includes speaking in a way that inspires happiness and hope in the soul,
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and the dislike of the opposite.
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On the authority of Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
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The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
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"There is no contagion and no bad omens.
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If there were to be bad luck in anything,
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it would be in the house, the woman, and the horse."
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Agreed upon.
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"Bad luck" (shu’m) means evil,
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and "pessimism" means expecting it to happen.
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The meaning of the hadith:
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That the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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negated and forbade bad omens and pessimism.
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Then he said:
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"If there were to be bad omens in anything,
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it would be in the horse, the woman, and the house."
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He did not state that it exists in them,
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but rather he said:
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"If it were to be in anything, it would be in them."
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Meaning, if it were to exist in anything,
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it would be in these.
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So if it does not exist in these three,
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then it does not exist in anything.
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On the authority of Buraydah, may Allah be pleased with him,
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that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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would not take bad omens.
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Narrated by Abu Dawud.
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From the benefits of the hadith:
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The obligation to follow the example of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
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And the dislike of taking bad omens and pessimism.
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On the authority of ‘Urwah ibn ‘Amir, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
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Bad omens were mentioned in the presence of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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He said:
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The best of it is optimism.
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Do not turn away a Muslim.
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If one of you sees something he dislikes,
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let him say:
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O Allah, none brings about good except You,
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and none repels evil except You,
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and there is no power and no strength except by You.
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It was recorded by Abu Dawud.
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Among the benefits of this hadith
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is that the term 'tira' (omen) is used for both optimism and pessimism.
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It is part of a Muslim's character
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to be optimistic and not pessimistic.
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One should seek the aid of Allah the Exalted and turn to Him
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to repel the evil of whatever one fears might bring harm.
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It is recommended to say 'There is no power and no strength except by Allah'
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when encountering things that people usually view as ominous,
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or when something occurs in one's soul.
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Riyad al-Salihin.