Fortune Telling & Astrology

Who Is the Soothsayer (Kaahin)?

• The one who deals with the news of things in the future, and claims to know a person's inner secrets.
• The fortune teller has a group of the jinn who come to them with news. They are those jinn who catch a hearing of that which is in the heavens.
• There is a difference between a fortune teller and a magician, as al-Imam Ahmad said, "The fortune teller is the one who claims to have knowledge of the unseen, and the magician is the one who ties knots and does things [to others]."

Types of Soothsayers

From the different types of soothsayers are:

• al-'Arraaf - the foreteller; the one who tells the future. This also includes the one who tells others where their lost or stolen property has gone, or who the lover of a woman accused of adultery is, and similar things.
• al-Munajjim - the astrologer; the one who claims to read things in the stars. This includes the one who writes and works with horoscopes.
• ar-Rummaal - the geomancer; the one who claims to read the future in the sand.
• al-Haazir - the diviner; the one who claims to be able to use the art of divination to determine things. This includes palm reading, reading shells, the crystal ball, etc.
• These names are often used interchangeably.

The Ruling of Soothsaying in Islam

From the hadeeth of Mu'aawiyah ibn al-Hakam as-Sulami that he said, "O Messenger of Allah, there are some things that we used to do in pre-Islamic times: We used to go to the soothsayer..." The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Do not go to the soothsayers..."¹

From the benefits of this hadeeth:

1. That soothsaying and associated sciences were commonly practised and believed in during the pre-Islamic times, as Allah told us regarding belief in astrology among Quraysh: "And instead (of thanking Allah) for your provision, you deny Him (by disbelief)!" [al-Waaqi'ah 56:82 ]
2. The prohibition of going to the soothsayer, whatever the reason.

In another wording, "Whoever has intercourse with a menstruating woman, or a woman in her anus, or whoever [goes to] a soothsayer, they have disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad."²

From the benefits of this hadeeth:

1. The prohibition of going to the soothsayer, whatever the reason.
2. That the prohibition is so severe, it is compared to the most repulsive of acts.
3. That going to them is an act of disbelief.

The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Whoever goes to a foreteller and asks them something, their prayer will not be accepted for forty days."³

From the benefits of this hadeeth:

1. That the one who goes to the soothsayer, will not have their prayer accepted for forty days, whether they believe them or not - even if it is only for entertainment.

Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Whoever goes to a soothsayer or a foreteller and believes in what they say, they have disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad."⁴

From the benefits of this hadeeth:

1. That believing in the sayings and writings of a soothsayer is disbelief.

'Imran ibn Hussayn narrated that the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Not from us is the one who interprets omens, or has them interpreted for him; or practises soothsaying, or has soothsaying done for him; or practises magic, or has magic done for him."⁵

From the benefits of this hadeeth:

1. That these things which are mentioned are not the acts of a Muslim.
2. That the one who does them and the one who has them done are the same.
3. The similarity between the things that are mentioned.

Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Whoever acquires any knowledge of astrology, he acquires a branch of magic." ⁶

From the benefits of this hadeeth:

1. That astrology and soothsaying are a branch of magic, and hold the same ruling.

• Shaykh Ibn Baaz said, "As for asking the foretellers and the astrologers and their likes, from those who deal with the news of the unseen, this is an evil from the most repulsive of things, and it is not permissible to believe them - in fact, it is from the categories of disbelief."

The Ruling of Watching Fortune Tellers and Reading Their Writings

• There is no doubt that watching fortune tellers and magicians, and reading their writings is similar to going to them, and carries the same ruling in Islam.
• Therefore, we warn the brothers and sisters of the evil of reading horoscopes in the newspapers or online, and watching magicians and soothsayers online or on TV.

Who is Allowed to Go to the Soothsayer?

• The scholars and the students of knowledge who go to them to disgrace them and to expose their evil are permitted to do so. In fact, this is a form of fighting in the way of Allah.
• The evidence can be found in the story of Musa: "[Moses] said, 'Your appointment is on the day of the festival when the people assemble at mid-morning.' * So Pharaoh went away, put together his plan, and then came [to Moses]. * Moses said to the magicians summoned by Pharaoh, "'Woe to you! Do not invent a lie against Allah or He will exterminate you with a punishment; and he has failed who invents [such falsehood].'" [Ta-Ha 20:59-61 ]

How Fortune Telling Works

Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "When Allah decrees a matter in heaven, the angels beat their wings in submission to what he says, (with a sound) like a chain beating on a rock. Then when fear is banished from their hearts, they say: 'what has your Lord said?' They say: 'The truth, and He is the most high, most great' – so those [jinn] who are trying to eavesdrop hear it, and those who are trying to eavesdrop are standing one above the other. So he hears a word and passes it on to the one who is beneath him, who passes it on in turn, until it reaches the lips of the sorcerer or soothsayer. Sometimes the flaming fire will hit him before he passes it on and sometimes he will pass it on before he is hit, and he tells one hundred lies along with it. Then it is said, 'did he not tell us on such and such a day that such and such would happen? So he is believed for that one word which was heard from heaven'"⁷

Aa'ishah narrated that the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The angels speak in the clouds about things that will happen on earth. The devils listen to what is said, then they drop that into the ear of the fortuneteller like dropping something into a bottle, and they add a hundred lies to it."⁸

Some of the Different Means of Divination

• Reading the tea leaves: The diviner asks the person to drink a cup of tea, leaving a few mouthfuls at the end. They then swirl them around to make a pattern, and claim to read things from them.
• Reading the coffee cup: Same as above, but with coffee grains.
• Casting shells: The diviner throws a handful of shells on to the ground, and claims to read things from them.
• Casting seeds: Same as above, but with seeds, especially date seeds and cardamom.
• Casting lead: Lead is melted on a stove, then poured into another pan. Patterns are read in the lead when it solidifies.
• Lines in the sand (geomancery): The diviner or geomancer presents a tray of sand and may ask the person to place their hand in it, or may simply read messages left by the jinn in the sand. Another variation is to throw a handful of sand on the ground, and to read it, as in the case of the shells and seeds.
• Astrology, horoscopes, and reading the star signs.

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^{1. "Recorded by Muslim, no. 1748.}

^{2. "Recorded by at-Tirmidhi.}

^{3. "Recorded by Muslim.}

^{4. "Recorded by Abu Dawood.}

^{5. "Recorded by al-bazaar with a good chain.}

^{6. "Saheeh Al-Jaami', no. 6074.}

^{7. Recorded by al-Bukhari.}

^{8. Recorded by al-Bukhari.}