39/33. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 2222c — Meaning of Safar and Ghoul
There Is No 'Adwa, No Tiyarah (Evil Omens), No Hamah. No Safar, No Nawa', And No Ghoul, And No Sick Camel Should Be Brought To A Healthy Camel
No Safar and No Ghoul Hadith: Meaning and Lesson
Sahih Muslim : 2222c
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 2222c
وَحَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ حَاتِمٍ، حَدَّثَنَا رَوْحُ بْنُ عُبَادَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ جُرَيْجٍ، أَخْبَرَنِي أَبُو الزُّبَيْرِ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ جَابِرَ بْنَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ " لاَ عَدْوَى وَلاَ صَفَرَ وَلاَ غُولَ " . وَسَمِعْتُ أَبَا الزُّبَيْرِ يَذْكُرُ أَنَّ جَابِرًا فَسَّرَ لَهُمْ قَوْلَهُ " وَلاَ صَفَرَ " . فَقَالَ أَبُو الزُّبَيْرِ الصَّفَرُ الْبَطْنُ . فَقِيلَ لِجَابِرٍ كَيْفَ قَالَ كَانَ يُقَالُ دَوَابُّ الْبَطْنِ . قَالَ وَلَمْ يُفَسِّرِ الْغُولَ . قَالَ أَبُو الزُّبَيْرِ هَذِهِ الْغُولُ الَّتِي تَغَوَّلُ .
Jabir bin `Abdullah Narrated from:
Jabir b. 'Abdullah reported Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) as saying: There is no transitive disease, no safar, no ghoul. He (the narrator) said: I heard Abu Zubair say: Jabir explained for them the word safar. Abu Zubair said: safar means belly. It was said to Jabir: Why is it so? He said that it was held that safar implied the worms of the belly, but he gave no explanation of ghoul. Abu Zubair said: Ghoul is that which kills the travellers.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 2222cIn-book reference : Book 39, Hadith 149USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 26, Hadith 5516
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 2222c
This hadith says there is no transitive disease, no Safar, and no ghoul. It also includes an explanation from Abu Zubair about the words. Jabir explained Safar, and Abu Zubair said Safar means the belly. It was said that Safar referred to belly worms. Abu Zubair also said ghoul refers to what kills travellers. The report does not turn these fears into powers to believe in. It records the Prophet’s rejection of them and then explains how people were using the terms. For anyone searching the meaning of Safar in hadith or ghoul in Islam, this narration keeps the lesson simple: old fearful ideas should not control belief.
What we learn from this hadith
- The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم rejected Adwa, Safar, and Ghoul as feared powers.
- The narration records how Safar was explained in the report.
- The term Ghoul is linked here to fears about travellers.
- Understanding words helps readers grasp the hadith more clearly.
