What is the difference between the sorcerer and the fortune-teller?

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Question:
May Allah reward you. The questioner asks: What is the difference between the sorcerer and the fortune-teller?

Answer:
The sorcerer is the one who learns sorcery from the jinn, as you heard. The fortune-teller is the one who claims knowledge of the unseen. The fortune-teller claims knowledge of the unseen; he does not practice sorcery, but he claims knowledge of the unseen and informs people of things hidden from them. This is the fortune-teller.

⁽²²¹⁾ Shall I inform you upon whom the devils descend? ⁽²²²⁾ They descend upon every sinful liar.

هَلْ أُنَبِّئُكُمْ عَلَىٰ مَن تَنَزَّلُ الشَّيَاطِينُ تَنَزَّلُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ أَفَّاكٍ أَثِيمٍ

[Ash-Shu'ara 26:221-222]

That is, the fortune-tellers who eavesdrop, and most of them are liars. These are the fortune-tellers who claim knowledge of the unseen and say to you, "I will tell you your luck in the future." This is a fortune-teller. The one who informs about luck, informs about misfortune, and informs about things, and about success in marriage and lack of success—this is the fortune-teller. We ask Allah for well-being. This is one who claims knowledge of the unseen, and whoever claims knowledge of the unseen is a disbeliever.

Say, "None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allah, and they do not perceive when they will be resurrected."

لَّا يَعْلَمُ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ الْغَيْبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ أَيَّانَ يُبْعَثُونَ

[An-Naml 27:65]

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

And if I knew the unseen, I could have acquired much wealth

وَلَوْ كُنتُ أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ لَاسْتَكْثَرْتُ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ

[Al-A'raf 7:188]

The Prophet is the best of creation, yet he does not know the unseen.

And if I knew the unseen, I could have acquired much wealth

وَلَوْ كُنتُ أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ لَاسْتَكْثَرْتُ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ

[Al-A'raf 7:188]

So how does the fortune-teller know the unseen? No one knows the unseen except Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He).

Source قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما هو الفرق بين الساحر والكاهن؟ للشيخ الفوزان — youtube.com

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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