Visiting Fortune tellers
Question
Today on social media, an Al-Jama’ah councilor, Imraan Moosa, shared that the leader of the party visited a priest (Dr. Bushiri) in Malawi. The priest “prophesized” that Al-Jama’ah would rule sooner than later. He also called the priest a “man of God.” What is the ruling for those who visit priests for prophecies? What is the ruling of those who accept such prophecies to be true?
Answer
It is not permissible to consult a fortune teller or a magician. Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, ‘The Salaah of one who visits a fortune-teller will not be accepted for forty days.’ [Muslim]. The same ruling is applicable for a magician.
In another Hadith, Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is reported to have said:
Whoever… consults a soothsayer, then he has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. [Tirmidhi-135]
From the above, we understand the severity of going to a fortune-teller, that believing in what the fortune-teller says constitutes Kufr. The members of the Al-Jamaa’ah party that visited the priest should renew their Imaan immediately.
References (Arabic / Urdu sources)
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ” مَنْ أَتَى … أَوْ كَاهِنًا فَقَدْ كَفَرَ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ صلى الله عليه وسلم
[قوله من أتى كاهنًا إلخ] المراد بإتيانه إياه تصديقه له فيما يذكره من أخبار المغيبات لا مطلق الإتيان حتى يلزم تكفير من أتاه ولو لحاجة أو تكذيبًا له وتبكيتًا أو ليسخر به ويستهزئ وكذلك لا يكفر لو أتاه وهو يعلم أو أن الجن تخير الكهنة وأن بعض أخبارهم صادق وبعضها كاذب
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- Answered by
- Mufti Ebrahim Ahmed
- Checked & approved by
- Mufti Mohammed Desai Saheb
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