A belief that has no foundation in the Qur'an and Sunnah and that cannot be reasoned by mind or science is called a khurafa (superstition). Islam has stood against superstition from its first day, and the most decisive part of that stand concerns the claim of knowing the unseen. This sermon examines what fortune telling and divination really are, why they have no place in Islam, the explicit ruling on visiting a fortune teller, and the Prophet's own teaching of istikhara as the believer's right path when facing a decision.
What Are Divination and Fortune Telling?
Divination (kahana) is the claim to bring word of the unseen — that is, of matters that cannot be reached by the senses. The one who claims this gift is a kahin. The classical scholar Ibn al-Athir defined the kahin as "one who claims to know hidden things and to tell of events that will occur."
Fortune telling (falciyya) is a branch of the same enterprise. The fortune teller claims, by means of various instruments — divinatory arrows, cards, coffee grounds, palm lines, astrological charts, dream-selling, stones — to deliver knowledge of the future. An 'arraf, in classical usage, is one who claims specifically to know the location of stolen property or lost objects, and to profit by it.
All three professions have, throughout history, tried to fill the same gap: the human desire to know the future. That desire is natural, and the believer feels it too; but the Qur'an teaches the believer to answer that desire not with an outstretched hand toward the unseen but with surrender to the One who is its Lord.
Only Allah Knows the Unseen
Two verses settle the question completely. The first is in Surah Al-An'am:
۞وَعِندَهُۥ مَفَاتِحُ ٱلۡغَيۡبِ لَا يَعۡلَمُهَآ إِلَّا هُوَ
— Surah Al-An'am 6:59With Him are the keys of the unseen; no one knows them but He.
The second is in Surah Al-Jinn:
عَٰلِمُ ٱلۡغَيۡبِ فَلَا يُظۡهِرُ عَلَىٰ غَيۡبِهِۦٓ أَحَدًا إِلَّا مَنِ ٱرۡتَضَىٰ مِن رَّسُولࣲ
— Surah Al-Jinn 72:26-27He is the Knower of the unseen, and He does not disclose His unseen to anyone — except to a messenger He has chosen.
The exception is decisive. Even the prophets do not know the unseen of their own; they know only what Allah has chosen to reveal to them. Allah commands His Messenger to declare this in his own voice:
قُل لَّآ أَقُولُ لَكُمۡ عِندِي خَزَآئِنُ ٱللَّهِ وَلَآ أَعۡلَمُ ٱلۡغَيۡبَ وَلَآ أَقُولُ لَكُمۡ إِنِّي مَلَكٌۖ إِنۡ أَتَّبِعُ إِلَّا مَا يُوحَىٰٓ إِلَيَّ
— Surah Al-An'am 6:50Say: "I do not tell you that I have the treasuries of Allah. Nor do I know the unseen. Nor do I tell you that I am an angel. I follow only what is revealed to me."
In another verse the Prophet says explicitly that he does not know the unseen: "If I had known the unseen, I would have multiplied what is good and no evil would have touched me" (Surah Al-A'raf 7:188). Even the timing of the Day of Judgment belongs only to Allah: "With Allah alone is the knowledge of the Hour" (Surah Luqman 31:34). If the Prophet himself disclaims this knowledge, which fortune teller possesses it?
Weather forecasts, the calculation of solar and lunar eclipses, prenatal medical imaging — none of these belong to ghayb (the unseen). They belong to the field of observation, calculation, and reasoned inquiry that Allah has opened to human knowledge. The unseen is what belongs purely to Allah — the time of one's death, the future hardships and blessings of one's life, the hidden intentions of others. No fortune teller has any access to these.
The Ruling on Visiting a Fortune Teller
The question most often faced by a believer in daily life is: what is the ruling on going to a fortune teller? The Prophet (peace be upon him) drew the line clearly and severely:
— Sahih Muslim, Greetings, no.Whoever goes to a fortune teller, an 'arraf, or a sorcerer, and believes what he says, has rejected what was revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him).
A second hadith broadens the prohibition:
— Sahih Muslim, Greetings, no.One who reads omens from birds and one for whom omens are read, one who tells fortunes and one who has his fortune told, one who practises sorcery and one for whom it is practised — none of these is of us. Whoever goes to a fortune teller and believes what he says has rejected what was revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him).
The hadith places "the one who tells" and "the one who has it told" on the same line. Not being a fortune teller oneself does not legitimize the visit. A milder warning is preserved in a separate narration:
— Sahih Muslim, Greetings, no.Whoever goes to an 'arraf, asks him about something, and believes what he says — his prayer is not accepted for forty days.
This makes a space for the case of one who attends but does not believe: a loss of the reward of worship, but not the rejection that comes with assent. The believer's door is closed both to belief in the fortune teller and to a pretence of disbelief that still chooses to walk in.
The Story of Musa and Pharaoh's Sorcerers
Pharaoh summoned the most accomplished sorcerers in the country to suppress what Musa (peace be upon him) had brought. When the sorcerers cast their ropes and staffs, the mercury inside them, warmed by the sun, made them appear to crawl across the ground like writhing serpents. For an instant even Musa was struck. Then Allah revealed: "Cast your staff." Musa's staff, in a single movement, swallowed everything they had thrown.
فَأَلۡقَىٰ مُوسَىٰ عَصَاهُ فَإِذَا هِيَ تَلۡقَفُ مَا يَأۡفِكُونَ فَأُلۡقِيَ ٱلسَّحَرَةُ سَٰجِدِينَ قَالُوٓاْ ءَامَنَّا بِرَبِّ ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ
— Surah Ash-Shu'ara 26:45-47Musa cast his staff, and at once it swallowed up the falsehood they had thrown. The sorcerers fell down in prostration and said, "We have believed in the Lord of the worlds."
Two lessons of this story endure for our subject. First: sorcery and fortune telling are most often the presentation of the unreal as if it were real. The appearance is strong; to those who know the craft, there is a physical or psychological mechanism behind it. Second: the sorcerers themselves were the ones who knew their work from the inside. When Musa's staff entered the field, they — the ones who had been performing the trick — prostrated without hesitation. They knew better than anyone that their work was an illusion. The fortune teller's customer mistakes for miracle what the practitioner often knows to be a calculated effect.
Pre-Islamic Superstitions and Their Modern Counterparts
Several Arab pagan superstitions, named in the Hadith, survive today under new names.
Tiyara: Treating a passing bird as a bad omen and abandoning a planned journey. Today it survives in black cats, the "unlucky" number 13, and the fear of naming a hope lest the naming spoil it. The Prophet told Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam: "This is something that enters the breast of one of you; do not let it stop you from your work" (Sahih Muslim, Greetings).
Hama: The owl's call on a rooftop as a sign of coming disaster. The Prophet declared the belief baseless.
Safar: The treatment of the month of Safar as inauspicious — particularly the avoidance of marriage contracts in it. But all months are simply portions of time. Classical scholars made a point of conducting marriages specifically in Safar to break this superstition.
Astronomical events as fate: The pagan Arabs read solar eclipses as the death of a great person. When the Prophet's son Ibrahim died, an eclipse coincidentally occurred; the people said, "The sun eclipsed for the death of Ibrahim." The Prophet corrected them: "The sun and the moon are two of Allah's signs; they do not eclipse for the death or life of anyone" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Eclipses). Modern astrology, which reads a person's character and fortune from the position of stars at birth, is the same superstition under a more learned name.
Istikhara — The Sunnah That Replaces the Fortune Teller
The Prophet taught the believer where to turn when uncertain about a decision — and he taught it as he taught a chapter of the Qur'an. Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The Prophet used to teach us istikhara in all our affairs as he would teach us a sura of the Qur'an, saying: 'When one of you intends to undertake a matter [that is not forbidden], let him pray two rak'ahs and then say:'"
— Sahih al-Bukhari, Tahajjud 25, no.O Allah, I seek goodness from You by Your knowledge, and ability from You by Your power, and I ask You from Your great bounty. You are able and I am not; You know and I do not; You are the Knower of the unseen. O Allah, if You know this matter to be good for me in my religion, my livelihood, and the consequence of my affair — both in this world and the next — then decree it for me, make it easy for me, and bless it for me. And if You know that it is harmful for me in my religion, my livelihood, and the consequence of my affair — in this world and the next — turn it away from me and turn me away from it, and decree for me the good wherever it may be; then make me content with it.
Istikhara is, in plain words: "O Allah, make easy for me the option that is best for me." The believer who is undecided does not consult a fortune teller; he stands before Allah, prays two voluntary cycles, and asks Him to incline his heart toward the good. The result is more soundly arrived at than any "lucky/unlucky" verdict, because it is given by the One who actually knows the unseen.
Istikhara is not performed where the goodness of a matter is already known — there is no need to pray istikhara to begin studying knowledge or to fulfil a clear command. It is for genuinely uncertain choices. Note also: istikhara is not a dream-interpretation system. The result of the prayer may arrive as a settling of the heart in one direction or as an easing of the matter. What is required is not an external sign but the inner peace that follows surrender to Allah. If no inner ease emerges, the Sunnah of repeating istikhara up to seven times is preserved in a narration of Anas ibn Malik.
Stories — Where the Hand Reaches Out to the Unseen
The Quraysh and the Test Questions
The pagans of Mecca would occasionally bring the Prophet questions about the unseen in order to "test" his prophethood. Allah taught the Prophet how to answer them — "I do not tell you that I have Allah's treasuries; I do not know the unseen; I do not tell you that I am an angel; I follow only what is revealed to me" (Surah Al-An'am 6:50). If the Prophet himself disclaims knowledge of the unseen, every claim by anyone else of such knowledge is a claim beyond their station.
The Wedding Song
Rubayyi' bint Mu'awwidh (may Allah be pleased with her) recounted her wedding morning: "The Prophet came to my wedding. Some young women were singing with tambourines, mentioning their fathers killed at Badr. One of them said: 'And among us is a Prophet who knows what will be tomorrow.' The Prophet said: 'Daughter, do not say that. Say what you were saying before'" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Marriage). The Prophet corrected, even in a phrase of song, the attribution to himself of an attribute that belongs to Allah alone. When the believer becomes accustomed to saying "he knew like a kahin," "he foresaw the future," even casually, the seriousness of the matter erodes.
Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam's Question
Mu'awiyah ibn al-Hakam as-Sulami (may Allah be pleased with him) recounts: "I said to the Prophet, 'O Messenger of Allah, in the days of jahiliyya we used to do certain things — we used to go to soothsayers.' The Prophet said: 'Do not go to soothsayers anymore.' I said: 'And we used to find omens.' He said: 'That is something that enters the breast of one of you. Do not let it stop you from your work'" (Sahih Muslim, Greetings). The hadith teaches two things: a prohibition on going to the soothsayer, and a discipline of the inner self that does not let a passing apprehension determine action. Intuition does not stop the believer; only surrender to Allah's decree does.
Putting Tawhid and Trust Into Practice With VAAZ
The refuge against the unknown future is not a fortune teller but the One who alone knows it. The 99 Beautiful Names of Allah collection in the VAAZ app features Al-Alim (the All-Knowing), Al-Hakim (the All-Wise), and Al-Wakil (the Trustworthy Disposer) — the three names to turn the heart toward in moments of uncertainty. The dua archive contains the full text of istikhara and daily dhikr recommendations. For tawakkul (reliance on Allah), see the Sermon on Tawakkul; for the inner training that supports it, see the Sermon on Taqwa.
Nothing comes to pass without Allah's permission. Take the means available to you — gather information, reason carefully, consult those of knowledge — pray istikhara, and then, having decided, entrust the outcome to Allah. This is the full toolkit available to the believer without ever stepping near a fortune teller.
References
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-An'am 6:50 and 6:59.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-A'raf 7:188.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Jinn 72:26-27.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Luqman 31:34.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Ash-Shu'ara 26:45-47.
- Sahih Muslim, Book of Greetings (Going to fortune tellers; omens).
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Tahajjud (Istikhara); Book of Marriage (Rubayyi's wedding); Book of Eclipses (Sun and moon).
- Ibn al-Athir, an-Nihaya fi Gharib al-Hadith, entry "Kahin."
- Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, Mafatih al-Ghayb, section on sorcery.
- Elmalili Hamdi Yazir, Hak Dini Kur'an Dili, commentary on the verses of sorcery, divination, and the unseen.