Question Summary:
Is there such thing lucky or unlucky wife

Question Detail:

Is there such thing lucky or unlucky wife

Answer :

It is important to bear in mind that there is no such thing as a lucky or unlucky wife per se. It is among the tenets of the Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jamā‘ah that all good and bad emanate from the decree of Allah Ta‘ālā. Nothing can benefit or harm a person without the permission of Allah. However, there is a narration from Abdullah ibn Umar رضى الله عنه, which states that he heard Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم state, “There is no (innate) contagiousness or bad omens, and bad luck is only found in three things, a horse, a wife, and a house.”
 
عن عبدالله بن عمر أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال لا عدوى ولا طيرة وإنما الشؤم في ثلاثة المرأة والفرس والدار (مسلم ج 4 ص 1747 , دار إحياء التراث العربي)
 
The commentators of Hadīth mention that this Hadīth is not to be taken upon its literal meaning. If this Hadīth were to be taken literally, the first part stating that there are no bad omens at all would contradict the second part of the Hadīth pertaining to bad luck. They state that the proper meaning of this Hadīth is that if there had to be anything such as bad luck, then it would have been in one’s horse, one’s wife or one’s house.
 
وإنما قلنا إنه متروك الظاهر لأجل قوله لا طيرة وهي نكرة في سياق النفي فتعم الأشياء التي يتطير بها ولو خلينا الكلام على ظاهره لكانت هذه الأحاديث ينفي بعضها بعضاً وهذا محال أن يظن بالنبي مثل هذا الاختلاف من النفي والإثبات في شيء واحد ووقت واحد (عمدة القاري ج:14 ص:150, رشيدية)
 
Furthermore, they state that what are actually meant in regards to an unlucky wife are her bad character, sharp tongue and/or lack of contentment. Since such a bad character from the wife can constrain and constrict the husband’s feelings, the wife is said to be unlucky for the husband. The same applies to a person’s horse (or car in our context) and house. It is commonly experienced that at times people purchase such a car or house, which continuously give problems to the owner, thus they deem them unlucky. However, in reality these things do not have any inherent and intrinsic power to cause harm as Allah Ta‘ālā states, “No calamity afflicts the earth or your own selves, but it is (pre-destined) in a book before We bring it into being; verily that is easy for Allah.”(Hadīd : 22)
 
مَا أَصَابَ مِنْ مُصِيبَةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ نَبْرَأَهَا إِنَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ
 
 
And Allah Ta'ala Knows Best


Ml. Yusuf bin Yaqub,
Student Darul Iftaa
Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah