And prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
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The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) transmitted, in the context of the hadiths, in "the chapter on the prohibition of consulting soothsayers, astrologers, and the like
From Safiyyah bint Abi Ubayd, from one of the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and may Allah be pleased with her, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said:Riyad as-Salihin 1669 Narrated by Muslim
And from Qabisa ibn al-Mukhaqriq (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saySunan Abi Dawud 3907Da'if (Al-Albani) Narrated by Abu Dawud with a good chain
And he said: “al-Tariq” is driving away, i.e., driving away birds, which is to take a good omen or a bad omen from their flight; if they fly to the right, he takes a good omen, and if they fly to the left, he takes a bad omen
Abu Dawud said: “al-‘Iyafah” is drawing lines
Al-Jawhari said in al-Sihah: “al-Jibt” is a term that applies to an idol, a soothsayer, a sorcerer, and the like
And from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saidSunan Abi Dawud 3905Hasan (Al-Albani) Narrated by Abu Dawud with a sound chain
And from Muawiyah ibn al-Hakam (may Allah be pleased with him), who saidRiyad as-Salihin 1672 Narrated by Muslim
And from Abu Mas'ud al-Badri (may Allah be pleased with him), who saidMuwatta Malik 31:70 Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim “
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.
The hadiths mentioned by the author and the athar (reports) therein are evidence for what was previously stated, which is that it is forbidden for a person to go to soothsayers and believe them. Whoever goes to a diviner and asks him, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days. And if he asks merely what a diviner asks, and among them is the soothsayer, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days. If he believes him, he has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
As for going to the soothsayer to expose his lie and falsehood, there is nothing wrong with that; rather, it may be a praiseworthy act, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did with Ibn Sayyad, a man who was a soothsayer or a sorcerer. meaning what did I keep in my heart? And he was unable to bring out the word, because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) kept “smoke” in his heart, but he was unable to—meaning Ibn Sayyad was unable to grasp it. He said “smoke.” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said to him Sahih al-Bukhari 6618 meaning you are a soothsayer and there is no good in you.
And as for what is related to that, i.e., astrology and soothsaying, among it is taking omens. Taking omens involves using birds. In the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, they used birds; they would release a bird from the ground. If it flew forward, he would proceed on his journey. If it flew and then returned, he would return from his journey. If it flew and went to the right, he would take a good omen for his journey, saying, “This is a good and blessed journey.” And if it went to the left, the opposite would happen; he would proceed on his journey but believe that his journey was bad. Why? Because the bird went to the left, the north, and the north is not desirable. This was their custom, and refuge is sought in Allah. Birds do not signify anything. Glory be to Allah. If a person wants to indicate a matter, he has a bird. If it goes forward, he says, “Let’s go.” If it goes backward, he says, “Wait.” If it goes right, he says, “This is a blessed journey.” And if it goes left, he says, “This is an ill-omened journey.” And he proceeds. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) invalidated all of this so that a person would not rely on anyone other than Allah. He commanded that if a person intends a matter and it is not clear to him, he should seek guidance (istikharah) by praying two rak'ahs other than the obligatory prayer and saying the known supplication for istikharah. At that time, if Allah decrees something for him after this istikharah, it is good for him, so he proceeds and relies on Allah. And if Allah turns his attention away from it, this means it is not good for him. As for drawing lots with arrows, driving away birds, and the like, all of it has no good in it. And success is from Allah. Yes.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : No, if the matter is not clear to him, he repeats it.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) transmitted, in the context of the hadiths, in "the chapter on the prohibition of consulting soothsayers, astrologers, and the like
From Safiyyah bint Abi Ubayd, from one of the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and may Allah be pleased with her, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said:
He who goes to one who claims to tell about matters of the Unseen and believes in him, his Salat (prayers) will not be accepted for forty days.
من أتى عَرَّافاً فسألهُ عن شيءٍ، فصدقهُ، لم تُقبل له صلاةٌ أربعين يوماًAnd from Qabisa ibn al-Mukhaqriq (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say
Augury from the flight of birds, taking evil omens and the practice of pressomancy pertain to divination.
العيافةُ، والطِّيَرةُ، والطَّرْقُ، من الجبتAnd he said: “al-Tariq” is driving away, i.e., driving away birds, which is to take a good omen or a bad omen from their flight; if they fly to the right, he takes a good omen, and if they fly to the left, he takes a bad omen
Abu Dawud said: “al-‘Iyafah” is drawing lines
Al-Jawhari said in al-Sihah: “al-Jibt” is a term that applies to an idol, a soothsayer, a sorcerer, and the like
And from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said
If anyone acquires any knowledge of astrology, he acquires a branch of magic of which he gets more as long as he continues to do so.
من اقتبس علماً من النجوم، اقتبس شُعبةً من السحر زاد ما زادAnd from Muawiyah ibn al-Hakam (may Allah be pleased with him), who said
I said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have recently emerged from ignorance and Allah has favoured me with Islam. There are still some men among us who visit the soothsayers to consult them (on matters relating to the future)." He (ﷺ) replied, "Do not visit them." I said: "There are some men who are guided by omens." He replied, "These are the ideas which come up in their minds but you should not be influenced by them (i.e., these things) should not prevent them from pursuing their works." I said: "There are some men who practise divination by drawing lines on the ground." The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) replied, "There was a Prophet who drew lines, the line which agrees with the line drawn by that Prophet would be correct."
قلت يا رسول الله إني حديث عهدٍ بجاهليةٍ، وقد جاء الله تعالى بالإسلام، وإن منا رجالاً يأتون الكهان؟ قال: فلا تأتِهِمْ قلتُ ومنا رجالٌ يتطيرون قال ذلك شيءٌ يجدونه في صدورهم، فلا يصدهم قلت: ومنا رجالٌ يَخُطُّونَ؟ قال: كان نبيٌّ من الأنبياء يَخُط، فمن وافق خَطَّهُ، فذاكAnd from Abu Mas'ud al-Badri (may Allah be pleased with him), who said
that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade the sale price of a dog, the earnings of a prostitute and the earnings of a fortune teller
أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم نهى عن ثمن الكلب، ومهر البغي وحُلوان الكاهنThe Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.
The hadiths mentioned by the author and the athar (reports) therein are evidence for what was previously stated, which is that it is forbidden for a person to go to soothsayers and believe them. Whoever goes to a diviner and asks him, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days. And if he asks merely what a diviner asks, and among them is the soothsayer, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days. If he believes him, he has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
As for going to the soothsayer to expose his lie and falsehood, there is nothing wrong with that; rather, it may be a praiseworthy act, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did with Ibn Sayyad, a man who was a soothsayer or a sorcerer.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke to him and said to him, what did you keep for yourself
كلمه النبي عليه الصلاة والسلام فقال له ماذا خبأت لكHe said, "Dukh, dukh."
قال الدخ الدخKeep quiet, for you cannot go beyond your limits (or you cannot exceed what has been foreordained for you).
اخسأ فلن تعدو قدركAnd as for what is related to that, i.e., astrology and soothsaying, among it is taking omens. Taking omens involves using birds. In the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, they used birds; they would release a bird from the ground. If it flew forward, he would proceed on his journey. If it flew and then returned, he would return from his journey. If it flew and went to the right, he would take a good omen for his journey, saying, “This is a good and blessed journey.” And if it went to the left, the opposite would happen; he would proceed on his journey but believe that his journey was bad. Why? Because the bird went to the left, the north, and the north is not desirable. This was their custom, and refuge is sought in Allah. Birds do not signify anything. Glory be to Allah. If a person wants to indicate a matter, he has a bird. If it goes forward, he says, “Let’s go.” If it goes backward, he says, “Wait.” If it goes right, he says, “This is a blessed journey.” And if it goes left, he says, “This is an ill-omened journey.” And he proceeds. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) invalidated all of this so that a person would not rely on anyone other than Allah. He commanded that if a person intends a matter and it is not clear to him, he should seek guidance (istikharah) by praying two rak'ahs other than the obligatory prayer and saying the known supplication for istikharah.
O Allah, I seek Your guidance by Your knowledge, and I seek Your power by Your power, and I ask You of Your great bounty. Indeed, You know and I do not know, and You have power and I do not have power. O Allah, if You know that this matter is good for me in my religion, my worldly life, and the outcome of my affair—or he said, "the immediate and the deferred"—then decree it for me, make it easy for me, and bless me in it. And if You know that this matter is evil for me in my religion, my worldly life, and the outcome of my affair—or he said, "the immediate and the deferred"—then turn it away from me and turn me away from it, and decree for me the good wherever it may be, and then make me satisfied with it.
اللهم إني أستخيرك بعلمك وأستقدرك بقدرتك وأسألك من فضلك العظيم فإنك تعلم ولا أعلم وتقدر ولا أقدر اللهم إن كان هذا الأمر ويسميه خير لي في ديني ودنياي وعاقبة أمري أو قال عاجل أمري وآجله فاقدره لي ويسره لي وإن كنت تعلم أنه شر لي في ديني ودنياي وعاقبة أمري أو قال عاجل أمري وآجله فاصرفه عني واصرفني عنه واقدر لي الخير حيث كان ثم رضني بهThe questioner : ...
The Shaykh : No, if the matter is not clear to him, he repeats it.