in Allah; he cuts off the very whisper of augury before it can lodge, and cools its passing notions before they can take shape.

ʿIkrimah said: “We were sitting with Ibn ʿAbbās when a bird flew by and cried out. A man among the group exclaimed, ‘Good, good!’ Ibn ʿAbbās replied, ‘Neither good nor evil.’ He hastened to censure him so that no one would imagine the bird had any power over good or evil. The same holds true for every other creature: by itself it can bring no benefit and ward off no harm.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ also said, ‘A good omen pleases me,’ and he clarified that a good omen is simply a pleasant word. He was pleased by it because it reflects thinking well of Allah, and the servant is commanded to think well of his Lord. Augury, by contrast, is to think ill of Allah and to expect calamity. This is the legal distinction between them: when people look to Allah for good, they attach their hearts to Him and rely on Him; but when they cut off their hopes and expectations from Allah, that is an evil in itself and an attachment to something other than Him.

Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, d. [751] AH, said: “There is nothing of polytheism in admiring and loving a good omen. It is simply in keeping with nature and the innate human disposition, which inclines toward whatever suits and harmonizes with it. The Prophet ﷺ informed them that among the things of this world made beloved to him were women and perfume; he liked sweets and honey; he delighted in a beautiful recitation of the Quran and in the call to prayer and would listen to them; he loved lofty morals and noble qualities. In short, he loved every perfection and every good and whatever leads to them.

Allah—exalted be He—has placed within human instincts an admiration for hearing a pleasant name, a love for it, and an inclination toward it. He has likewise put within them comfort, optimism, and joy when they hear words such as success, peace, triumph, congratulations, glad tidings, victory, and conquest. When these names reach the ear, the soul rejoices, the breast expands, and the heart is strengthened; but when it hears their opposites, the opposite state ensues, saddening it and arousing fear.