A discussion regarding the statement of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib when he was asked whether one should take a bound person to the fortune-tellers, he said

The questioner : I am sitting with you.

The Shaykh : As Allah willed.

The questioner : And you were studying, and during the lesson something occurred to me, so when you saw the movement I started... then I left, so I said to the brothers... may Allah have mercy on him, in Fath al-Bari, in the chapter on sorcery, which... Ibn Hajar specifically regarding unbinding a bound person at the fortune-tellers, does this generalize to all types of sorcery?

The Shaykh : By Allah, I did not understand, may Allah bless you, and I do not want to bother you, what did it say in Fath al-Bari?

The questioner : In the chapter on unbinding sorcery.

The Shaykh : Unbinding sorcery.

The questioner : It was reported: "From Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, may Allah have mercy on him, that when he was asked: Should a bound person be taken to the fortune-tellers? He said: There is no harm, Allah has only forbidden the harmful, not the beneficial." Does this generalize to all sorcery, or only binding?

The Shaykh : First: going to the fortune-tellers is not permissible, but perhaps Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib means by fortune-tellers not those who connect with the jinn, take a companion from the jinn, and rely on their news which is mostly lies, as is known in the authentic hadith. Rather, I say perhaps, rather he means by fortune-tellers those who practice a type of treatments known as Arab medicine. As for seeking the help of a fortune-teller on the assumption that he is a fortune-teller with a connection to the jinn, this is not permissible, because you know the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): And you also know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): So if this fortune-teller prescribes a medicine for you... who do you think your sorcery is... that is what I think Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib permits.

The questioner : But when he was asked that sorcery has been forbidden by Allah, he said: "Allah has only forbidden the harmful," meaning that the fortune-teller in what benefits people, this concept is not a problem.

The Shaykh : But how does the fortune-teller benefit people?

The questioner : Fighting the jinn with the jinn.

The Shaykh : No, no, it is not permissible. Does the end justify the means? The answer is no, obviously, except according to one school of thought, which is the school of Abu Nuwas who says: "And I treated with that which was the disease"; and therefore I presented to you earlier the prohibition of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) of foul medicine, this is a hadith, and the most famous hadith from this is ; so "And I treated with that which was the disease," this is not permissible except according to the school of Abu Nuwas, so visiting the fortune-tellers is not permissible in any way, start from here, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib or al-Musayyib, the fortune-tellers are like the fortune-tellers of the last times who made deception a profession among people.

The questioner : But the fortune-teller is the fortune-teller.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : The fortune-teller is a deceiver in the time of Ibn al-Musayyib and in our time.

The Shaykh : Yes, but there is more deception in one than in the other, and if we say that the deception is the same, do you think that the master of the Tabi'un would issue such a fatwa?

The questioner : Ibn Hajar reported it.

The Shaykh : And what Ibn Hajar reports, is it a revelation from the Wise, the Praiseworthy? No.

The questioner : I understood that Ibn Hajar went to this opinion.

The Shaykh : He went to the negation, to this opinion.

The questioner : Perhaps I understood this.

The Shaykh : The matter is very easy, is Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib more knowledgeable and more learned than Ibn Hajar?

The questioner: Sa'id.

The Shaykh : Well, if we say what we said about Sa'id, we say what we said about that one a fortiori, the important thing - may Allah bless you - is that the Muslim does not forget the rule, which is: , so I, above all, strongly, strongly, strongly doubt that Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib would issue such a fatwa, given what we know of his knowledge and jurisprudence, and it is sufficient that he is the master of the Tabi'un. Second: this doubt arises from two aspects: the first aspect: that I know from my practice of narrations, whether they are Prophetic hadiths or Salafi athar, that scholars and hadith scholars, including Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, do not pay attention to transmitting Salafi athar with chains of narration as they do with transmitting Prophetic hadiths.