The Ruling on Visiting Fortune-Tellers and Watching Sorcery Performances on Television Channels

The questioner:
Bandar from the Prophet's city, please go ahead, Bandar. Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.

The Shaykh:
Peace and the mercy of Allah.

The questioner:
Greetings to you and your listeners. Honorable Shaykh, I have two questions for you. May Allah reward you with good. Please proceed. The hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when he said: “Whoever goes to a fortune-teller or a sorcerer…” . Sometimes, Honorable Shaykh, one sees sorcery performances or things resembling visual illusions on the channels and denies them, but does this hadith apply to us if we look at them? Okay, the Shaykh will answer. The second question. Wait, wait, the Shaykh will answer.

The Shaykh:
It is not permissible to go to fortune-tellers, soothsayers, or those who claim knowledge of the unseen, (peace and blessings be upon him). It is not permissible to go to them, and it is not permissible to watch channels that contain sorcery and superstitions; it is not permissible to look at them, except for one who wants to deny them, refute their practitioners, and inform the authorities so they can prohibit them. This is part of enjoining good and forbidding evil. As for one who watches them passively and does nothing, it is not permissible for him to do so. Yes.