23 - Chapter on Divination by Lines and the Augury of Birds

3907 - Musaddad narrated to us, Yahya narrated to us, 'Awf narrated to us, Hayyan narrated to us — and other than Musaddad said: Hayyan ibn al-'Ala' — Qatan ibn Qabisah narrated to us, from his father, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: "Augury by lines, superstitious omens, and divination by casting are of jibt." At-tarq means divination by casting, and al-'iyafah means drawing lines.

===============================================

This is the path of Sulayman ibn Bilal, and al-Bukhari [recorded it] in abbreviated form (7503), and al-Nasa'i (1847) and (15694) via the path of Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah — all three of them from Salih ibn Kaysan, from him (i.e., from the same chain). It is also in Musnad Ahmad (17061) and Sahih Ibn Hibban (188) and (6132).

Salih ibn Kaysan was contradicted by Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri — as recorded by Muslim (72) and al-Nasa'i in al-Kubra (1848) and (10693) — who narrated it from 'Ubayd Allah ibn 'Abd Allah, from Abu Hurayrah, thus making it part of Abu Hurayrah's musnad. This kind of discrepancy is harmless, because wherever it circulates, it is upon a Companion, and all of them are trustworthy.

It also has a basis in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, for Muslim (72) recorded it via the path of Abu Yunus, the freed slave of Abu Hurayrah, from him.

Al-Khattabi said: His saying "in the wake of a sky" means in the wake of rain. The Arabs call rain "sky" because it descends from it. The poet said:

When the sky falls upon a people's land, we pasture on it, even if they are angry.

And an-naw' (pl. anwa') refers to the twenty-eight stars that are the lunar mansions. They used to claim that when the moon alighted in one of those stars, they would be given rain. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, nullified their claim and made the falling of rain an act of Allah, Glorified be He, alone, not the act of anyone else.

(1) Its chain is weak. Regarding Hayyan: it is said he is Hayyan ibn al-'Ala', and it is said Hayyan Abu al-'Ala', and it is said Hayyan ibn 'Umayr, and it is said Hayyan ibn Mukhariq Abu al-'Ala'. They did not mention any narrator from him other than 'Awf — who is Ibn Abi Jamilah al-A'rabi — and his being declared trustworthy is not established from anyone other than Ibn Hibban. Ahmad and Ibn Ma'in denied that he was Hayyan ibn 'Umayr Abu al-'Ala' al-Basri, the trustworthy one. Yahya: he is Ibn Sa'id al-Qattan. =