Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah

What is the meaning of hearing an owl late at night ?

· 16 Rabiʻ II 1433 AH1 min readFatwa 19822English

Question

What is the meaning of hearing an owl late at night ?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu `alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

The owl is merely a bird that is unable to see properly in the day and usually comes out at night making a hooting sound.

In Islam hearing an owl is not a bad omen as used to believe by people of the past.[i]

And Allah knows best.

Mawlana Saeed Ahmed Golaub

Westmoreland, Jamaica, West Indies

Student Darul Iftaa

Checked and Approved

Mufti Ebrahim Desai

daruliftaa.net

References (Arabic / Urdu sources)

[i] تحفة الأحوذي (6 / 186):

قَالَهُ جَمَاعَةٌ وَحَكَاهُ الْقَاضِي عَنْ أَبِي زَيْدٍ الْأَنْصَارِيِّ الْإِمَامِ فِي اللُّغَةِ قَالَ وَفِيهَا تَأْوِيلَانِ أَحَدُهُمَا أَنَّ الْعَرَبَ كَانَتْ تَتَشَاءَمُ بِهَا وَهِيَ الطَّائِرُ الْمَعْرُوفُ مِنْ طَيْرِ اللَّيْلِ وَقِيلَ هِيَ الْبُومَةُ قَالُوا كَانَتْ إِذَا سَقَطَتْ عَلَى دَارِ أَحَدِهِمْ فَرَآهَا نَاعِيَةً لَهُ نَفْسَهُ أَوْ بَعْضَ أَهْلِهِ وَهَذَا تَفْسِيرُ مَالِكِ بْنِ أَنَسٍ وَالثَّانِي أَنَّ الْعَرَبَ كَانَتْ تَعْتَقِدُ أَنَّ عِظَامَ الْمَيِّتِ وَقِيلَ رُوحُهُ يَنْقَلِبُ هَامَةً تَطِيرُ وَهَذَا تَفْسِيرُ أَكْثَرِ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَهُوَ الْمَشْهُورُ

Answered by
Mawlana Saeed Ahmed Golaub
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Source: Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah — https://askimam.org/public/question_detail/19822
Fatawa SA: https://fatawa.co.za/fatwa/askimam-19822

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