Allah said, “But when good came to them, they said, “This is ours by right.” And if a bad condition struck them, they saw an evil omen in Moses and those with him. Unquestionably, their fortune is with Allah, but most of them do not know.” [Quran 7:131]

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Allah unveils the fact that paganists’ life is full with superstitions. Their unbelief in Allah makes them believe in unscientific and strange things. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines superstition as a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation. It is also known in Islam with tatayyur/tiyarah.

Our beloved Prophet stated, “There is no superstition.” [recorded by Al-Bukhari & Muslim]. He said too, “Superstition is minor shirk (ascribing a partner beside Allah).” [recorded by Abu Dawud].

Paganist Arabs had their numerous superstitions as well, one of those is marriage in Shawwal. This month was named after the drying up of the camels’ milk (tashweel), when it becomes scanty. This is what happens to the camels when the heat becomes intense and there are no longer any dates on the palm trees. Hence Arabs were superstitious about getting married at that time, and they would say that the bride would keep away from her groom like the female camel when she has been impregnated and lifted her tail.

The Prophet Muhammad -peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him- showed that their superstition was false by intently married Aishah in Shawwal, three years befor Hijrah. Aishah told her story, “The Messenger of Allaah married me in Shawwaal and consummated the marriage with me in Shawwaal, and which of his wives was more favoured by him than me?” [narrated by Muslim]

Imam Al-Nawawi (d. 1277 CE) said in his commentary on the this hadith, “This indicates that it is mustahabb to get married and to consummate the marriage in Shawwaal. Our fellow-scholars have stated that this is mustahabb (recommended), quoting this hadeeth as evidence for that. By saying this, Aishah was aiming to refute the ignorant belief of the Jahiliyyah, and what some of the common folk still believe today, that it is abominable to get married or to consummate the marriage in Shawwal. This is false and there is no basis for this belief. It is one of the leftovers of the Jahiliyyah, when they used to be superstitious about that.”

May Allah make easy for you to marry and grant you with a spouse who will bring you closer to Him and bless your marriage and let it be a means for you to become closer to Him in love and devotion. Let it be a source of untold blessings, happiness and joy and be a way for you and your familiy to enter Jannah.

written by Nur Fajri Romadhon

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See here to read more explanation of the verse above in English. You are able to look for other topics with our search engine as well in English or Indonesian.
https://tafsir.learn-quran.co/en/surah-7-al-araf/ayah-131