Is a Bird Putting Flowers Petals on My Grandfather’s Grave a Sign?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

Is a bird putting flowers petals on my grandfather’s grave a sign of something?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

As Muslims, we are not superstitious. We believe that everything good or bad is created by Allah Most High as per His Divine will and power.

However, there is an understanding of a good omen (f’al hasan). This is when perceives a sign of something good. For instance, is a sick person hears a voice saying, ‘O healthy one!’ (Ya Salim) or someone who lost something hears, ‘O he who will find (Ya Wajid). [Zabidi, Taj al-Arus]

Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) narrates, “The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) used to love good omens and dislike bad ones.” [Ahmad, Musnad Ahmad]

Other examples can be found built in to the Arabic language as well. For instance the word for caravan (qafila) contains in its root the meaning of returning. This is a good omen that those who leave will return. [Razi, Mukhtar al-Sihah]

Moderation

Despite the above, one should not go to exaggerate the good omen and one should not impose the perception of a good omen on the Divine will, such that one says categorically that so and so is forgiven because of this, or so and so will be cured because of this. 

These are matters only known to Allah Most High, and we are allowed to hope, but we should be moderate in our assessments. 

Hope this helps

Allah knows best

[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he completed four years at the Darul Uloom seminary in New York, where he studied Arabic and the traditional sciences. He then traveled to Tarim, Yemen, where he stayed for three years studying in Dar Al-Mustafa under some of the greatest scholars of our time, including Habib Umar Bin Hafiz, Habib Kadhim al-Saqqaf, and Shaykh Umar al-Khatib. In Tarim, Shaykh Yusuf completed the memorization of the Qur’an and studied beliefs, legal methodology, hadith methodology, Qur’anic exegesis, Islamic history, and several texts on spirituality. He joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.