Fortunetelling
Dr.
Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips
There are among
mankind, people who claim knowledge of the unseen and the future. They are known
by various names, among them: fortune-teller, soothsayer, foreseer, augur,
magician, prognosticator, oracle, astrologer, palmist, etc. Fortune-tellers use
various methods and mediums from which they claim to extract their information,
among them: reading tea-leaves, drawing lines, writing numbers, palm-reading,
casting horoscopes, crystal ball gazing, rattling bones, throwing sticks,
etc.
Practitioners of occult arts, which claim to reveal the unseen and
predict the future, can be divided into two main
categories:
1. Those who have no real knowledge or
secrets but depend on telling their customers about general incidences which
happen to most people. They often go through a series of meaningless rituals,
then make calculatedly general guesses. Some of their guesses, due to their
generality, usually come true. Most people tend to remember the few predictions
that come true and quickly forget the many which do not. This tendency is a
result of the fact that after some time all the predictions tend to become
half-forgotten thoughts in the subconscious until something happens to trigger
their recall. For example, it has become a common practice in
North
America to
publish, at the beginning of each year the various predictions of famous
fortune-tellers. When a survey was taken of the various predictions for the year
1980, it was found that the most accurate fortune-teller among them was only 24%
accurate in her predictions!
2. The second group are
those who have made contact with the Jinn. This group is of most importance
because it usually involves the grave sin of Shirk, and those involved often
tend to be highly accurate in their information and thus present a real Fitnah
(temptations) for both Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
World of
the Jinn
Some people have attempted to
deny the reality of the Jinn about whom the Qur'an has devoted a whole chapter,
Soorah al-Jinn (72). By relying on the literal meaning of the word Jinn which
comes from the verb Janna, Yajunnu: "to cover, hide or conceal", they claim that
the word Jinn really refers to "clever foreigners". Others have even stated that
a Jinn is a human who does not have a true mind in his head but he has a fiery
nature. But, the reality is that the Jinn represent another creation of Allaah,
which co-exists with man on the earth. Allaah created the Jinn before He created
mankind, and He also used a different set of elements than those used for man.
Allaah said: "Verily we created man from dried clay, from black putrid mud. And
we created the Jinn before that from a fiery wind." (Surah al-Hijr
15:26)
They were named Jinn because they are hidden from the eyes of
mankind. Iblees (Satan) is from the world of the Jinn, even though he was among
the angels when they were commanded by Allaah to prostrate to Adam. When he
refused to prostrate and was asked why, Allaah said: "He said, 'I am better than
he is. You (Allah) created me from fire and You created him from clay!" (Surah
Saad; 38:76)
'Aa'esha reported that the Prophet (pbuh) said, "The angels
were created from light and the Jinn from smokeless fire." (Sahih
Muslim)
Allaah also said, "And when We told the angels to prostrate to
Adam, they all prostrated except Iblees. He was of the Jinn." (Surah al-Kahf,
18:50)
Therefore it is incorrect
to consider him a fallen angel or the like.
The Jinn may first be divided
into three broad categories in relation to their modes of existence. The Prophet
(pbuh) said: "There are three types of Jinn: One type which flies in the air all
the time, another type which exists as snakes and dogs, and an earthbound type
which resides in one place or wanders about. " (At-Tabaree and
al-Haakim)
The Jinn may be further divided into two categories in
relationship to their faith: Muslims (believers) and Kaafirs (disbelievers).
Allaah refers to the believing Jinn in Soorah al-Jinn as follows:
"Say: It has been revealed to me that a group of Jinn listened
and said, 'Verily we have heard a marvellous Qur'an. It guides unto
righteousness so we have believed in it. And, we will never make partners with
our Lord. He, may our Lord's glory be exalted, has not taken a wife nor a son.
What the foolish ones among us used to say about Allaah is a horrible
lie."(Surah al-Jinn 72:1-4)
"And there are among us Muslims and others
who are unjust. Whoever accepts Islam has sought out the right path. As for
those who are unjust, they will be fuel for the Hell fire." (Surah Jinn
72:14)
The disbelievers among the Jinn are referred to by various names
in both Arabic and English: 'Ifreet, Shaytaan, Qareen, demons, devils, spirits,
ghosts, etc. They try to misguide man in various ways. Whoever listens to them
and becomes a worker for them is referred to as human Shaytaan
(devil).
Allaah said: "Likewise, we have made for every Prophet an enemy,
Shaytaans from among mankind and the Jinn. (Surah al-An'aam 6:112)
Every
human has an individual Jinn accompanying him referred to as a Qareen (i.e.
companion). This is a part of man's test in this life. The Jinn encourage his
lower desires and constantly try to divert him from righteousness. The Prophet
(pbuh) referred to this relationship as follows, "Everyone of you has been
assigned a companion from the Jinn. " The Sahaabah asked, "Even you, O Messenger
of Allaah?" And the Prophet replied, "Even me, except that Allaah has helped me
against him and he has submitted. Now he only tells me to do
good."(Muslim)
Prophet Sulaymaan (Solomon) was given miraculous control
over the Jinn, as a sign of his prophethood. Allaah said: "And, we gathered for
Sulaymaan his army from the Jinn, mankind and the birds." (Surah an-Naml 27:17)
and they were all kept in order and ranks.
But this power was not given
to anyone else. No one else is allowed to control the Jinn and no one can. The
Prophet said, "Verily an 'Ifr-eeit from among the Jinn spat on me last night
trying to break my Salaah. However Allaah let me overpower him and I wanted to
tie him to one of the columns in the masjid so that you all could see him in the
morning. Then, I remembered my brother Sulaymaan's prayer: 'Oh my Lord, forgive
me and bestow on me a kingdom not allowed to anyone after me.' (Surah Saad
38:35) (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
Man cannot gain control over the Jinn as
this was a special miracle given only to Prophet Sulaymaan. In fact, contact
with the Jinn in circumstances other than possession, or accident is most often
made by the performance of sacrilegious acts despised and forbidden in the
religion. The evil Jinn summoned in this fashion may aid their partners in sin
and disbelief in God. Their goal is to draw as many others as they can into the
gravest of sins, the worship of others besides or along with God.
Once
contact and contract with the Jinn are made by fortune-tellers, the Jinn may
inform them of certain events in the future. The Prophet (pbuh) described how
the Jinn gather information about the future. He related that the Jinn were able
to travel to the lower reaches of the heavens and listen in on some of the
information about the future, which the angels pass among themselves. They would
then return to the earth and feed the information to their human
contacts.(Bukhari and Muslim) This used to happen a lot prior to the prophethood
of Muhammad (pbuh) and fortune-tellers were very accurate in their information.
They were able to gain positions in the royal courts and enjoyed much popularity
and were even worshipped in some regions of the world.
After the Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) began his mission the situation changed. Allaah had the angels
guard the lower reaches of the heavens carefully, and most of the Jinn were
chased away with meteors and shooting stars. Allaah described this phenomena in
the following Qur'anic statement made by one of the Jinn, "We (the Jinn) had
sought out the heavens but found it filled with strong guardians and meteors. We
used to sit on high places in order to listen, but whoever listens now finds a
flame waiting for him."'
Allaah also said, "And We have guarded it (the
heavens) from every cursed devil, except the one who is able to snatch a hearing
and, he is pursued by a brightly burning flame."(Surah al-Hijr 15:17)
Ibn
'Abbaas said, "When the Prophet and a group of his companions set out for the
Ukaadh market, the devils were blocked from hearing information in the heavens.
Meteors were let loose on them, so they returned to their people. When their
people asked what happened, they told them. Some suggested that something must
have happened, so they spread out over the earth seeking the cause. Some of them
came across the Prophet and his companions while they were in Salaah and they
heard the Qur'an. They said to themselves that this must have been what blocked
them from listening. When they returned to their people they told them, 'Verily
we have heard a marvellous Qur'an. It guides unto righteousness so we believed
in it. And we will never make partners with our Lord.' (Al-Bukhari, Muslim,
Tirmidhi and Ahmad)
Thus, the Jinn could no longer gather information
about the future as easily as they could before the Prophet's (pbuh) mission.
Because of that, they now mix their information with many lies. The Prophet
said: "They (the Jinn) would pass the information back down until it reaches the
lips of a magician fortune-teller. Sometimes a meteor would overtake them before
they could pass it on. If they passed it on before being struck, they would add
to it a hundred lies." (Al-Bukhari and Tirmidhi)
'Aa'eshah reported that
when she asked Allaah's messenger (pbuh) about fortune-tellers, he replied that
they were nothing. She then mentioned that the fortune-tellers sometimes told
them things, which were true. The Prophet (pbuh) said: "That is a bit of truth
which the Jinn steals and cackles in the ear of his friend; but he mixes along
with it a hundred lies." (al-Bukhari, Muslim)
Once while 'Umar ibn
al-Khattaab was sitting, a handsome man, Sawaad Ibn Qaarib passed by him. 'Umar
said: "If I'm not wrong, this person is still following his religion of
pre-Islamic times or perhaps he was one of their fortune-tellers." He ordered
that the man be brought to him and asked him about, what he suspected. The man
replied, "I have never seen a day like this where a Muslim is faced with such
accusations." 'Umar said, "Verily I am determined that you should inform me."
The man then said, "I was their fortune-teller in the time of ignorance." On
hearing that 'Umar asked, "Tell me about the strangest thing which your female
Jinn told you." The man then said, "One day, while I was in the market, she came
to me all worried and said, 'Have you not seen the Jinns in their despair after
their disgrace? And their following of she-camels and their riders." 'Umar
interjected, "It is true." (Al-Bukhari)
The Jinns are also able to inform
their human contact of the relative future. For example, when someone comes to a
fortune-teller, the fortune-teller's Jinn gets information from the man's Qareen
(the jinn assigned to every human being) of what plans he had made prior to his
coming. So the fortune-teller is able to tell him that he will do this or that,
or go here or there. By this method, the real fortune-teller is also able to
learn about a stranger's past in vivid detail. He is able to tell a total
stranger of his parents' names, where he was born, the acts of his childhood,
etc. The ability to vividly describe the past is one of the marks of a true
fortune-teller who has made contact with the Jinn. Because the Jinn are able to
traverse huge distances instantaneously, they are also able to gather huge
stores of information about hidden things, lost articles and unobserved events.
Proof of this ability can be found in the Qur'an, in the story about Prophet
Sulaymaan and Bilqees, the Queen of Sheba. When Queen Bilqees came to see him,
he asked the Jinn to bring her throne from her land. "An Ilfreet from among the
Jinns said, I will bring it for you before you can get up from your place.
Verily, I am strong and trustworthy for the assignment.(Surah
an-Naml)
The Islamic Ruling
on Fortune-telling
Because of the sacrilege and heresy
involved in fortune telling, Islam has taken a very strong stance towards it.
Islam opposes any form of association with those who practice fortune-telling,
except to advise them to give up their forbidden
practices.
Visitation of
Fortune-tellers
The Prophet (pbuh) laid down principles,
which clearly forbade any form of visitation of fortune-tellers. Safiyyah
reported from Hafsah (wife of the Prophet) that the Prophet (pbuh) said, "The
Salaah of whoever approaches a fortune-teller and asks him about anything will
not be accepted for 40 days and nights."(Muslim) The punishment in this Hadeeth
is for simply approaching a fortune-teller and asking him questions out of
curiosity. This prohibition is further supported by Mu'aawiyah Ibn al-Hakam
asSalamee's Hadeeth in which he said, "O Messenger of Allaah, verily there are
some people among us who visit oracles. " The Prophet (pbuh) replied, "Do not go
to them". Such a severe punishment has been assigned for only visitation because
it is the first step to belief in fortune-telling. If one went there doubtful
about its reality, and some of the fortune-teller's predictions come true, one
will surely become a true devotee of the fortune-teller and an ardent believer
in fortune-telling. The individual who approaches a fortune-teller is still
obliged to make his compulsory Salaah throughout the 40 day period, even though
he gets no reward from his prayers. If he abandons the Salaah all together, he
has committed another major sin. This is similar to the Islamic ruling in the
case of Salaah on or in stolen property, according to the majority of Jurists.
They hold that whenever obligatory Salaah is performed, it produces two results
under normal circumstances: 1. It removes the obligation of that prayer from
the individual. 2. It earns him a reward.
If Salaah is performed on or
in stolen property it removes the obligation of Salaah, but it is devoid of
reward. Consequently, the Prophet forbade praying the same obligatory prayers
twice.
Belief in
Fortune-tellers
The Islamic ruling with regard to
anyone who visits a fortune-teller believing that he knows the unseen and the
future is that of Kufr (disbelief). Abu Hurayrah and al-Hasan both reported from
the Prophet (pbuh) that he said, "Whosoever approaches a fortune-teller and
believes what he says, has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad. Such a
belief assigns to creation some of Allaah's attributes with regard to the
knowledge of the unseen and the future. Consequently, it destroys Tawheed
alAsmaa was-Sifaat, and represents a form of Shirk in this aspect of
Tawheed.
The ruling of Kufr includes, by analogy (Qiyaas), those who read
the books and writings of fortune-tellers, listen to them on the radio or watch
them on the T. V., as, these are the most common means used by 20th century
fortune-tellers to spread their predictions.
Allaah clearly states in
al-Qur'an that no one knows the unseen besides Him. Not even the Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh). Allaah said: With Him are the keys to the unseen and none knows
it except Him alone."
Then he told the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), "Say! I
have no power to bring good to myself nor avert harm but it is only as Allah
wills. If it were that I knew the unseen, I would have multiplied the good and
no evil would have touched me."
And he also said: "Say! None in the
heavens nor the earth knows the 'unseen except Allah'."
Therefore, all
the various methods used around the world by oracles, fortune-tellers, and the
likes, are forbidden to Muslims.
Palm-reading, I-Ching, fortune cookies,
tea leaves as well as Zodiacal signs and Bio-rhythm computer programs, all claim
to inform those who believe in them about their future. However, Allaah has
stated in no uncertain terms that He alone knows the future: ''Verily the
knowledge of the Hour is with Allaah alone. It is He who sends down the rain and
knows the contents of the wombs. No one knows what he will earn tomorrow nor in
which land he will die, but Allaah is all-knowing and aware."(Surah Luqmaan
31:34)
Therefore, Muslims must take utmost care in dealing with books,
magazines, newspapers as well as individuals who, in one way or another, claim
knowledge of the future or the unseen. For example, when a Muslim weather-man
predicts rain, snow, or other climatic conditions for tomorrow he should add the
phrase, "In ShaaAllaah (If Allaah so wishes)". Likewise, when the Muslim doctor
informs her patient that she will deliver a child in 9 months or on such and
such a day, she should take care to add the phrase "In ShaaAllaah", as such
statements are only estimations based on statistical
information.
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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