Ahmad 14574

Its isnad is sahih, and it is recorded by the leading imams. What he means by his statement, "If it is in anything," is, if ill omen exists in anything, it is in three things, the woman, the horse, and the house. This is the wording of the Sahihayn, for Bukhari recorded it in 9/137, number 5094, Fath al-Bari, in the book of Marriage, chapter on what is to be guarded against regarding the ill omen of women, and Muslim in 4/1748, number 2227, in the book of Greetings, chapter on Superstition and Omens, and this is the wording of Ahmad. See what precedes and follows it in Muslim, and Bukhari also narrated it in Adab al-Mufrad, 917. Malik narrated it in Muwatta, 972, number 21, in the book of Seeking Permission, chapter on what is to be guarded against regarding ill omen, and Tabarani in Al-Kabir, 6/122, number 5707, and Bayhaqi, 8/140, and Tahawi in Maani al-Athar, 4/313.The gist of his discussion is that he considers the hadith to negate ill omen rather than affirm it, and he relates this from Ayesha, may Allah be pleased with her. The best tafsir I have found for this is to interpret ill omen here as meaning distress and difficulty, for just as these three things, when they are good, bring happiness, so too, if they are bad, they bring misery.