The Ruling on Seeking the Help of Those Who Know the Locations of Water
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Question:
There are people who claim to know the presence of water in the layers of the earth without the use of scientific devices. They stand at a site and determine by saying: "There is water at such and such a place, at such and such a distance." Is it permissible to seek their help in this situation?
Answer:
Water has signs by which it is known, and Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) and others have mentioned this. There are people with experience in this matter who practice it and learn it from others and from their predecessors. They may be correct or they may be wrong, but the majority of them, if they have mastered the craft, are correct. The scholars have mentioned that they know this by various types of evidence: by the weather, by the vegetation, and by other things regarding the description of the earth, its mountains, and its valleys. They may be correct at times—which is the majority of the time—and they may be wrong at some times, like others who have knowledge, who may be correct or wrong.
The point is that it is known by signs. So, if they are tested and it is known that they are mostly correct, there is no harm in that.
People whom we do not suspect, from our time and from times before this, have told us about many people who know these things and are truthful. They come to the garden or to the town and clarify that there is water in this direction and no water in that direction. Sometimes they specify a particular spot and say: "This is more likely to have water." So it is dug and abundant water is found. They specify the other directions and say: "This is mostly, meaning in the majority of their opinion, has nothing." They are truthful because they hit the mark by the signs they learned. However, there may be among them someone who lies, just as there are among other people who claim various types of crafts.
If it is known that one of them practices lying and that he promotes himself to the people without right, then he deserves to be punished by the authorities. But mostly, those who practice these matters have skill in them and have knowledge of various types of knowledge that they grew up with and learned from others. It is not from the knowledge of the unseen, but it has signs and indicators. A person may be successful in them, or he may be wrong in them.
There are people who claim to know the presence of water in the layers of the earth without the use of scientific devices. They stand at a site and determine by saying: "There is water at such and such a place, at such and such a distance." Is it permissible to seek their help in this situation?
Answer:
Water has signs by which it is known, and Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) and others have mentioned this. There are people with experience in this matter who practice it and learn it from others and from their predecessors. They may be correct or they may be wrong, but the majority of them, if they have mastered the craft, are correct. The scholars have mentioned that they know this by various types of evidence: by the weather, by the vegetation, and by other things regarding the description of the earth, its mountains, and its valleys. They may be correct at times—which is the majority of the time—and they may be wrong at some times, like others who have knowledge, who may be correct or wrong.
The point is that it is known by signs. So, if they are tested and it is known that they are mostly correct, there is no harm in that.
People whom we do not suspect, from our time and from times before this, have told us about many people who know these things and are truthful. They come to the garden or to the town and clarify that there is water in this direction and no water in that direction. Sometimes they specify a particular spot and say: "This is more likely to have water." So it is dug and abundant water is found. They specify the other directions and say: "This is mostly, meaning in the majority of their opinion, has nothing." They are truthful because they hit the mark by the signs they learned. However, there may be among them someone who lies, just as there are among other people who claim various types of crafts.
If it is known that one of them practices lying and that he promotes himself to the people without right, then he deserves to be punished by the authorities. But mostly, those who practice these matters have skill in them and have knowledge of various types of knowledge that they grew up with and learned from others. It is not from the knowledge of the unseen, but it has signs and indicators. A person may be successful in them, or he may be wrong in them.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.