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Fatwa CenterProtection from soothsayers and diviners
Question
I know a woman who claims to be able to tell the future through reading coffee grinds. Astonishingly, she tells me secrets that nobody knows except for me. Is this considered soothsaying and divination?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
It was reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that whoever consults and believes a soothsayer or a diviner has thereby disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad, (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam). [Ahmad]
Soothsayers, diviners and astrologers claim that they have insight into matters of the Unseen. Therefore, it is impermissible to consult any of them about anything. Whoever consults and believes them, despite knowing about the verse in which Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Say, "None in the heavens and earth knows the Unseen except Allaah}[Quran 27: 65] has become an apostate and, therefore, is required to repent and renew his Islam.
Anyone who believes them while being unaware of the aforementioned verse is not an apostate. However, he has committed a grave sin.
Reading coffee grinds is a type of soothsaying, hence it is impermissible to consult or believe the person who does this. In fact, soothsayers depend on their devils to tell them about hidden matters. It is a fact that the devils sometimes say the truth while at other times they lie. When they tell a truth, soothsayers manipulate this to make up and add many lies to it. What has occurred to the questioner may be interpreted in this way.
To avoid the evil of this soothsayer, the questioner is advised to practice the Sharee'ah ruling on consulting and believing in soothsayers. She has to explain this to all her acquaintances and tell them that these devils are not reliable and that they usually lie, and therefore are not to be trusted.
Seeking refuge with Allaah The Almighty, obeying His orders, constant recitation of Athkaar (remembrances and mentionings of Allaah), especially those of the morning and evening and supplicating to Allaah The Almighty are the most effective protection against such evils. Allaah The Almighty protects whoever seeks refuge with Him.
It is an obligation for every Muslim to firmly believe that no one except Allaah The Almighty can benefit or harm anyone. The Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that if all the people collaborated to benefit a person with something, they would not succeed except with what Allaah The Almighty had already decreed; and if they gathered in order to harm someone with something, they would not succeed except with something that Allaah The Almighty had already decreed. This is because fate has already been decided and registered. [At-Tirmithi]
And Allaah Knows best.
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