Questioned about the hadith: (Misfortune is only in three things). Is the addition that A'ishah made to the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, in which she said, "May Allah have mercy on Abu Hurayrah; he only said...

The Shaykh : Please go ahead.

The questioner : May Allah reward you, O Shaykh. The hadith is the one of Abu Hurayrah in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Some scholars said, regarding the correction of what A'ishah added to the Companions, that she said, "May Allah have mercy on Abu Hurayrah; he only entered into the last part of this hadith." So the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the beginning of the hadith is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Then she mentioned the completion of the hadith. I do not know the authenticity of this addition, O Shaykh, and whether this is the context of the hadith or not.

The Shaykh : Do you mean by the addition what relates to the hadith of A'ishah?

The questioner : The hadith of A'ishah, what she corrected regarding Abu Hurayrah.

The Shaykh : The correction of the Lady A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) is authentic, but this authenticity does not negate that the hadith of Abu Hurayrah has an authentic basis, but with different wording. I have addressed this issue because the hadith is actually narrated in the authentic collections, in addition to those below them, in three wordings. The first is what you mentioned from Abu Hurayrah: "Misfortune is only in..." The second is: "Misfortune..." The third, and it is the correct one, is: "If there were misfortune in anything, it would be in three things." This last wording is the correct one in terms of the reliance of the authors of the two authentic collections on it, and the fact that this wording comes from many and numerous paths that make it stronger than the first two wordings, first in terms of narration, and then in terms of understanding, because the hadiths are continuous, if not mass-transmitted, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in denying superstition. So to say "misfortune is in three things" or "misfortune is only in three things" contradicts the denial by the Wise Lawgiver in those many hadiths referred to. "No superstition" is the wording; "There is no superstition in Islam." This strengthens our position in terms of narration that the third and last wording is And thus we escape the problem that comes to mind from the first or second wording, and we say that this came from the abbreviation of some narrators, and it is not necessary that this abbreviation by some narrators occurred later, but it is possible that it occurred in some of the narrators who also transmitted the hadith to the Lady A'ishah. So she narrated what she heard, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) responded to them without a doubt, because "misfortune" and "misfortune is only" are not an Islamic belief. So if we establish the two narrations, in narration and understanding, we establish the narration of A'ishah because its chain is authentic, and we establish the narration of A'ishah by preference, and it is with the last third wording. Is that clear?

The questioner : It is clear.

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, and I mentioned this in the authentic hadiths in more than one place. Yes.