Is One Allowed to Go to a Fortune Teller?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
In response to a question, you stated that if fortune tellers do convey anything, it is only what Allah allows them to convey, whether through guesswork/coincidence, jinn, or any other means created by Allah and completely under Allah’s control, then one has not committed disbelief. Even with this understanding, “believing” in fortunetellers/soothsayers is a serious sin.
What exactly do you mean when you say you believe in them? We believe they are unaware of the absolute unseen. We obviously don’t believe they tell us because they know the absolute unseen. Is believing in them this way a shirk? Is it shirk to go to them to find that little part of relative unseen through them?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health.
Yes, going to them is a major sin, even if it is for a small part of knowing about the unseen or getting an idea from them. It is a total disregard and against the teachings of Islam and its Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace).
Abu Hurayra (Allah bless him and give him peace) reported, The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Whoever goes to a fortuneteller and believes in what he says or approaches his wife for intercourse while she is menstruating, or approaches his wife for intercourse from her backside, he has nothing to do with what has been revealed to Muhammad.” [Abu Dawud]
‘Imran ibn Husayn reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “He is not one of us who reads omens or has them read for him, or who performs soothsaying, or has it performed for him, or who practices magic or has it practiced for him.” [Musnad al-Bazzar]
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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
