Complete Translation of Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 23:

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


Chapter 1479: The Diviner


Book 23, Number 3895:

Narrated Abu Hurairah:

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If anyone resorts to a diviner and believes in what he says (according) to the version of Musa), or has intercourse with his wife (according to the agreed version) when she is menstruating, or has intercourse with his wife through her anus, he has nothing to do with what has been sent down to Muhammad (peace_be_upon_him) - according to the version of Musaddad.


Chapter 1480: Astrology


Book 23, Number 3896:

Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas:

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If anyone acquires any knowledge of astrology, he acquires a branch of magic of which he gets more as long as he continues to do so.


Book 23, Number 3897:

Narrated Zaid b. Khalid al-Juhani :

The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) led us in the morning prayer at al-Hudaibiyyah after rain which had fallen during the night, and when he finished, he turned to the people and said: Do you know what your Lord has sail? They said: Allah and His Apostle know best. He said: This morning there were among my servants one who believes in me and one who disbelieves. The one who said: "We have been given rain by Allah's grace and mercy" is the one who believes in me and disbelieves in the star ; but the one who said: "We have been given rain by such and such a rain star," is the one who dis-believes in in me and believes in the star.


Chapter 1481: Geomancy By Drawing Lines and Augury from the flight of birds


Book 23, Number 3898:

Narrated Qabisah:

I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say: Augury from the flight of birds, taking evil omens and the practice of pressomancy pertain to divination. Tarq: It is used in the sense of divination in which women threw stones. 'Iyafah: It means geomancy by drawing lines.

Tarq: It is used in the sense of divination in which women threw stones.
'Iyafah: It means geomancy by drawing lines.


Book 23, Number 3899:

Muhammad b. Ja'far said on the authority of 'Awf: 'Iyafah means to make the birds fly by threatening them. Tarq means lines drawn on the earth.


Book 23, Number 3900:

Narrated Mu'awiyah b. al-Hakam al-Sulamy :

I said: Apostle of Allah I among us there are men who practise divination by drawing lines. He said: There was a Prophet who drew lines, so if anyone does it as he drew lines, that is right.


Chapter 1482: TAKING OMENS


Book 23, Number 3901:

Narrated Abdullah ibn Mas'ud:

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Taking omens is polytheism; taking omens is polytheism. He said it three times. Every one of us has some, but Allah removes it by trust (in Him).


Book 23, Number 3902:

Abu Hurairah reported the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) as saying: There is no infection, no evil, omen, no serpent, in a hungry belly and no hamah. A nomadic Arab asked: How is it that when camels arc in the sand as if they were gazelles and a mangy camel comes among them and it gives them mange? He replied: Who infected the first one? Ma'mar, quoting al-Zuhri, said : A man told me that Abu Hurairah narrated to him saying that he heard the Prophet (may peace be upon him) say: A diseased camel should not be brought with a healthy camel to drink water.3323 He said: The man then consulted him and said: Did you not tell us that the Prophet (may peace be upon him) had said: There is no infection, no serpent in a hungry belly and no hamah? He replied: I did not transmit it to you. Al-Zuhri said: Abu Salamah said: He had narrated it and I did not hear that Abu Hurairah had ever forgotten any tradition except this one.


Book 23, Number 3903:

Abu Hurairah reported the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) as saying: There is no infection, no hamah, no other promising rain, and no serpent in a hungry belly.


Book 23, Number 3904:

Narrated Abu Hurairah:

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: There is no ghoul.

Abu Dawud said: Malik was asked about the meaning of his saying: There is no safar. He replied: The people in pre-Islamic Arabia used to make the month of ;afar lawful (for war). They made it lawful in one year and unlawful in another year. The Prophet (may peace be upon him) said: There is no safar.


Book 23, Number 3905:

Muhammad b. al-Musaffa said to us on the authority of Baqiyyah. He said: I asked Muhammad b. Rashid about the meaning of the word hamah. He replied: The pre-Islamic Arabs used to say: When anyone dies and is buried, a bird canles forth from his grave. I asked: What did he mean by safar? He said: I heard that the pre-Islamic Arabs used to take evil omen from safar. So the Prophet (may peace be upon him) said : There is no safar. Muhammad (b. Rashid) said : We heard someone say: It is a pain in the stomach. They said that it was infection. Hence he said : There is no safar.


Book 23, Number 3906:

Anas reported the Prophet (may peace be upon him) as saying: There is no infection and no evil omen, and I. like a good omen. Good omen means a good word.


Book 23, Number 3907:

Narrated Abu Hurairah:

When the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) heard a word, and he liked it, he said: We took your omen from your mouth.


Book 23, Number 3908:

'Ata' said: People said: safar is a pain within the belly. I asked: What is hamah? He said: People said (believed) that hamah which is an owl or a flight bird and which shrieks is the spirit of men. It is not the spirit of men. It is an animal.


Book 23, Number 3909:

Narrated Urwah ibn Amir al-Qurashi:

When taking omens was mentioned in the presence of the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him), he said: The best type is the good omen, and it does not turn back a Muslim. If one of you sees anything he dislikes, he should say: O Allah, no one brings good things except Thee, and no one averts evil things except Thee and there is no might and power but in Allah.


Book 23, Number 3910:

Narrated Buraydah ibn al-Hasib:

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) did not take omens from anything, but when he sent out an agent he asked about his name. If it pleased him, he was glad about it, and his cheerfulness on that account was visible in his face. If he disliked his name, his displeasure on that account was visible in his face. When he entered a village, he asked about its name, and if it pleased him, he was glad about it, and his cheerfulness on that account was visible in his face. But if he disliked its name, his displeasure on that account was visible in his face.


Book 23, Number 3911:

Narrated Sa'd ibn Malik:

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: There is no hamah, no infection and no evil omen; if there is in anything an evil omen, it is a house, a horse, and a woman.


Book 23, Number 3912:

Narrated Farwah ibn Musayk:

Yahya ibn Abdullah ibn Buhayr said that he was informed by one who had heard Farwah ibn Musayk tell that he said: Apostle of Allah! we have land called Abyan, which is the land where we have our fields and grow our crops, but it is very unhealthy. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Leave it, for destruction comes from being near disease.


Book 23, Number 3913:

Narrated Anas ibn Malik:

A man said: Apostle of Allah! we were in an abode in which our numbers and our goods were many and changed to an abode in which our numbers and our goods became few. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Leave it, for it is reprehensible.


Book 23, Number 3914:

Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah:

The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) took a man who was suffering from tubercular leprosy by the hand; he then put it along with his own hand in the dish and said: Eat with confidence in Allah and trust in Him.