Ruling on saying “good luck” or “bad luck”

Praise
be to Allah

Firstly:

“Luck” (hazz)
means a share of goodness (or good fortune). al-Azhari (may Allah have mercy
on him) said:

Al-Layth said:
“Luck” means a share of blessings or goodness.

End quote from
Tahdheeb al-Lughah (3/273)

Ibn Faaris (may
Allah have mercy on him) said:

“Luck” means a
share of good fortune… One who has a share of provision may be described as
lucky.

End quote from
Majmal al-Lughah (p. 215).

This is the
basic meaning: luck refers to a share of good fortune. The word may also be
used to refer to fortune in general, whether it is good or bad. This is how
it is used by most people.

Al-Fayroozabaadi
(may Allah have mercy on him) said:

“Luck” refers to
one’s share or fortune; or it may be used specifically to refer to one’s
share of good fortune.

End quote from
al-Qaamoos al-Muheet (p. 695)

Al-Minnaawi (may
Allah have mercy on him) said:

“Luck” is one’s
decreed share.

End quote from
at-Tawqeef (p. 142)

Based on that,
when people say “good luck” and the like, as a kind of supplication for the
person to whom it is said, and wishing him well, there is nothing wrong with
that, as is obvious; in fact it is praiseworthy because it is a kind of
supplication for good and wishing the Muslims well.

But one should
not wish or pray for bad luck for a Muslim, because this involves
transgression and enmity towards one’s brother in faith.

Muslim narrated
in his Saheeh (2735) from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said: “A person will still be
answered so long as his supplication does not involve sin or severing ties
of kinship, and so long as he does not become impatient.” It was said: O
Messenger of Allah, what does being impatient mean? He said: “Saying, I
offered supplication, and I offered supplication, and I did not receive any
response, then he becomes frustrated and stops offering supplication.”

Al-Bukhaari (13)
and Muslim (45) narrated from Anas ibn Maalik that the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “No one of you truly believes until he
loves for his brother what he loves for himself.”

Secondly:

If the one who
says “good luck” is saying it by way of telling something that happened, so
if something good happens to him he says that it was good luck, and if
something bad happens to him, he says that it was bad luck, in this case too
there does not seem to be anything wrong with it, in sha Allah. In the case
of something good happening, then the matter is clear, and it comes under
the heading of speaking of the blessings of Allah and thanking Him for what
He decreed for him. In the case of something bad happening, then what
appears to be the case is that there is also nothing wrong with it, if he is
telling of something that actually happened as it appears to be, to the best
of the person’s knowledge. It is well-known that things may happen to a
person in his life that upset him, and this is bad luck, according to what
people customarily think and say; in fact it is something that is also said
in the shar ‘i texts. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):

“Say
(O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)): I possess no power
of benefit or hurt to myself except as Allah wills. If I had the knowledge
of the Ghayb (unseen), I should have secured for myself an abundance of
wealth, and no evil should have touched me”

[al-A‘raaf
7:188]

“Is
not He (better than your gods) Who responds to the distressed one, when he
calls Him, and Who removes the evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth,
generations after generations. Is there any ilaah (god) with Allah? Little
is that you remember!”

[an-Naml 27:62].

This is also
what is meant by hasanah (good, good fortune) and sayyi’ah (evil, bad
fortune), which is referred to in verses such as the following
(interpretation of the meaning):

“And
if some good reaches them, they say, ‘This is from Allah,’ but if some evil
befalls them, they say, ‘This is from you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him)).’ Say: ‘All things are from Allah,’ so what is wrong
with these people that they fail to understand any word?”

[an-Nisa’ 4:78]

“And
We tried them with good (blessings) and evil (calamities) in order that they
might turn (to Allah’s Obedience)”

[al-A‘raaf
7:168].

And there are
many similar, well known verses.

But in that case
it is stipulated that there should be nothing in his words that reflects
discontent with what Allah has willed and decreed for him, or thinking
negatively of Allah, or attributing the evil or bad fortune to Him, may He
be glorified. Bad things, evil and harm are a reality in Allah’s creation
and are something that He has decreed will reach His slave according to what
is decreed for that person. As for Allah’s will and decree concerning His
slaves, it is all good and nothing evil or bad can be attributed to Him, for
Allah is exalted and far above all faults and shortcomings.

For more
information, please see the answers to questions no.
105099 and 130685.

Thirdly:

Some people may
say “good luck” or “bad luck”, thinking that some such thing has happened
outside of the decree of Allah, may He be exalted, or because he thinks that
it is connected to some things that have nothing to do with events that
happen, such as attributing that to the stars, or some numbers, or some days
of the week, and the like.

So if someone
says that some person’s good luck or bad luck is due to such a reason, then
what he says is wrong and is haraam, because coincidence with such things,
or otherwise, is not something that Allah has made to be the cause of good
or evil.

Something
similar was indicated in a fatwa of the Standing Committee, when they were
asked:

We often hear
that a person has good luck or bad luck (or he is lucky or unlucky). To what
extent is it permissible – or not – to believe in luck?

They replied:

We are required
to believe in the will and decree of Allah, so we should be patient in
bearing misfortune and we should give thanks to Allah and praise Him for
good fortune. We should believe that Allah has divided provision among His
slaves, and has decreed that their life spans and deeds should vary, when
they were still foetuses in their mothers’ wombs. Allah is most wise in all
that He wills and decrees, and every Muslim must attribute what befalls
people of blessings and abundant provision to Allah, may He be glorified,
Who bestows that and enables people to attain it; and he should attribute
anything else that befalls him to the will and decree of Allah. This comes
under the heading of attaining sound belief in Tawheed ar-Ruboobiyyah
(Oneness of divine Lordship). The Muslim must keep away from anything that
may undermine his belief and Tawheed, so he should not attribute good and
blessings, or calamities and disasters, to luck or stars, for that is not
permissible. And Allah is the source of strength. May Allah send blessings
and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions. End
quote.

Standing
Committee for Academic Research and Issuing Fatwas

Shaykh ‘Abd
al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abdullah Aal ash-Shaykh, Shaykh ‘Abdullah ibn Ghadyaan,
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan, Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd

End quote from
Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa’imah (26/328)

Fourthly:

The Muslim
should always think positively of Allah, may He be exalted, concerning
whatever befalls him in all his affairs. He may think that he has bad luck
in something that may be entirely good for him. So it is better to avoid the
phrase “bad luck” in all circumstances. Allah, may He be exalted, says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“and
it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a
thing which is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not know”

[al-Baqarah
2:216].

In Saheeh
Muslim (2999) it is narrated that Suhayb (may Allah be pleased with him)
said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
said: “How wonderful is the situation of the believer, for all his affairs
are good. If something good happens to him, he gives thanks for it and that
is good for him; if something bad happens to him, he bears it with patience,
and that is good for him.”

And Allah knows
best.