What is the ruling on going to fortune-tellers and asking them about lost items?
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The questioner : The questioner asks: What is the ruling on going to sorcerers to ask them about a lost item or the like?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Without believing in the sorcery they perform, knowing that many people have fallen into this?
The Shaykh : It is not permissible for a person to go to sorcerers to have them point out the location of a lost item or the like, because that encourages sorcery and entices others to learn sorcery. It is obligatory for the one who has lost something to ask Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, to return it to him. He should say, "O Lord, just as You decreed upon me and I lost my camel or my car, so return it to me," and he should persist in supplication. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, may not return it to him.
Because that is better for his heart and safer for his mind. As for going to sorcerers and magicians, it is not permissible. It is well known that if a person goes to them, what does he intend by going? Huh? He intends to believe in them, otherwise what is the benefit? But there is no harm in testing sorcerers and magicians in order to refute their claims, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did with Ibn Sayyad. Ibn Sayyad was a man who had fortune-telling in him. He appeared during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he was mentioned to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so he called him and spoke to him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) kept the word "smoke" in his heart.
Then he said to him, "What is the word you have kept in your heart?" He said, "Smoke," and he was unable to complete the word because he was not capable of knowledge of the unseen. He said, "Smoke." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Be silent, for you will not exceed your limit," meaning that you are a fortune-teller and there is no good in you; you do not know except some things, and you build things upon them. Yes. May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Without believing in the sorcery they perform, knowing that many people have fallen into this?
The Shaykh : It is not permissible for a person to go to sorcerers to have them point out the location of a lost item or the like, because that encourages sorcery and entices others to learn sorcery. It is obligatory for the one who has lost something to ask Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, to return it to him. He should say, "O Lord, just as You decreed upon me and I lost my camel or my car, so return it to me," and he should persist in supplication. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, may not return it to him.
Because that is better for his heart and safer for his mind. As for going to sorcerers and magicians, it is not permissible. It is well known that if a person goes to them, what does he intend by going? Huh? He intends to believe in them, otherwise what is the benefit? But there is no harm in testing sorcerers and magicians in order to refute their claims, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did with Ibn Sayyad. Ibn Sayyad was a man who had fortune-telling in him. He appeared during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he was mentioned to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so he called him and spoke to him. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) kept the word "smoke" in his heart.
Then he said to him, "What is the word you have kept in your heart?" He said, "Smoke," and he was unable to complete the word because he was not capable of knowledge of the unseen. He said, "Smoke." So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Be silent, for you will not exceed your limit," meaning that you are a fortune-teller and there is no good in you; you do not know except some things, and you build things upon them. Yes. May Allah reward you.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، لقاء[37 من 216] ماحكم الذهاب إلى المنجمين وسؤالهم عن الأشياء الضائعة؟!! ابن عثيمين - كبار العلماء — youtube.com (0:09)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.