because it opens the breast, gladdens the heart, loosens the tongue, and spurs one on to do good. Pessimism is the very opposite. Should a thought of pessimism strike you, turn away from it—turn away from that sorrow—and say:

Allahumma lā khayra illā khayruk, wa lā ṭayra illā ṭayruk, wa lā ilāha ghayruk (O Allah, there is no good except the good You decree; no omen except what You ordain; and there is no deity but You).

—that is, the entire matter lies in Your hand, and there is no god besides You.

As for the Prophet’s ﷺ statement, “If ill fortune is to be found in anything, it is in three: a house, a woman, and a horse,” its meaning is that these three accompany a person more than anything else: the woman is his wife, the house his dwelling, and the horse his mount. At times one of these may indeed prove inauspicious. A man may marry a woman and find nothing but vexation, fatigue, and problems from her; he may move into a house and feel constricted and weary of it; the same applies to a horse—and nowadays our mounts are cars. Some cars seem ill-starred: they are involved in frequent accidents, constantly break down, and wear a person out.

When someone is faced with something of this sort, let him seek refuge with Allah from Satan the accursed and repeat:

Allahumma lā khayra illā khayruk, wa lā ṭayra illā ṭayruk, wa lā ilāha ghayruk (O Allah, there is no good except the good You decree; no omen except what You ordain; and there is no deity but You),

and Allah will remove from his heart whatever sense of ill omen he feels. Allah alone grants success.