And its chain is good. He mentioned a corroborating report for it through Ibn Abi Layla, from ‘Atiyyah, from Abu Sa‘id, with the same wording. Another is narrated from Anas, with a good chain. Similar to it is the hadith of Sakhr—or Hakim ibn Mu‘awiyah—attributed to the Prophet: “There is no ill omen, though good fortune may be found in three things: a woman, a horse, and a house.” Its chain of transmission is authentic, as I shall explain below (1930).

In sum, the narrators differed over its wording. Some narrated it as cited in the heading, while others added at its beginning wording indicating that there are no superstitious omens or ill omens—both being synonymous, as the scholars have said. The majority narrated it this way, so their narration is the weightier one, since they possess additional knowledge and it must therefore be accepted. This is further supported by Aishah’s hadith, which states that it was the people of the pre-Islamic era who used to say this.

Al-Zarkashi said in al-Ijabah (p. 128):

“Some of the imams said: Aishah’s narration concerning this is closer to what is correct, Allah willing—meaning, than Abu Hurayrah’s hadith—because it accords with the Prophet’s universal prohibition of superstitious omens, his disapproval of them, and his encouragement to abandon them, as expressed in his words: ‘Seventy thousand will enter Paradise without reckoning: they are those who do not cauterize themselves (the original reads: “do not hoard”), do not seek ruqyah, do not believe in superstitious omens, and place their trust in their Lord.’”

I say: By his words, “some of the imams,” he was referring to Imam al-Tahawi, may Allah Most High have mercy on him. Al-Tahawi favored the aforementioned hadith of Aishah in Mushkil al-Athar, and stated something similar in Sharh al-Maʻani, with which he concluded his discussion of this subject. Regarding Sa‘d’s hadith and similar reports, he said:

“This hadith indicates something other than what the preceding hadith indicates”—that is, Ibn ‘Umar’s hadith through the narration of ‘Utbah ibn Muslim, and similar reports from Ibn ‘Umar—“for Sa‘d rebuked Sa‘id when he mentioned superstitious omens, and informed him that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘There are no superstitious omens.’ Then he said: ‘If superstitious omens exist in anything, then they are in a woman, a horse, and a house.’ He did not state that they exist in these three; rather, he only said: ‘If they exist in anything—