Bukhari

Hadith Commentary:
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A soothsayer (kahin) is one who claims knowledge of the secrets and mysteries of the universe and gives news of the future.
Since the time when the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was sent, strict guards have been placed over the heavens.
On this basis, soothsaying is false.
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This hadith exposes the trickery of those performers who, day after day, become a cause of misguidance for people of weak faith. It also mentions the angels of decree and destiny (qada wa qadar) who descend to the earth to implement the divine commands in the universe.
The purpose here is only to establish the existence of angels.

Hadith Commentary:
The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said regarding the soothsayers:
“They are nothing.” This means that their statements are not trustworthy, just as we say about an immoral person that he is not a human being.
The negation of his being human does not mean the negation of his essence, but rather the negation of his character, i.e., that he does not possess humanity.
Similarly, we say to a person who has not done a solid job, “You have done nothing,” even though he may have done something.
The negation of the deed here means the negation of a trustworthy and solid deed.
And Allah knows best.

Hadith Commentary:

Qastallani said: This soothsaying, that is, the devils who used to ascend to the heavens and snatch the words of the angels, was discontinued after the advent of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Now, there is such a severe guard over the heavens that the devils cannot even approach there, nor are there any soothsayers like those who used to have connections with the devils. The soothsayers of our time merely speak conjecturally and without basis.

Hadith Commentary:
Previously, the devils (shayatin) would ascend to the heavens and eavesdrop on the conversations of the angels. After the advent of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), this type of soothsaying (kahānah) was discontinued. Now, there is such a severe guard over the heavens that the devils are not able to approach there at all. There are no longer such soothsayers (kahin) who have a connection with the devils such that they inform them of unseen matters (ghayb). The astrologers and soothsayers of this era speak merely from conjecture and guesswork. If, by coincidence, any of their statements turn out to be correct, one should not be deceived by this; rather, it is necessary to strongly refute it so that the general public does not fall into their trap and become victims of incorrect beliefs. Their knowledge has no foundation; rather, these people, due to their filthiness and impurity, remain immersed in ignorance. And Allah knows best.

Hadith Commentary:
The relevance of this hadith to the chapter is that sometimes a soothsayer (kahin) snatches Allah’s words through the agency of a devil (shaytan), but to recite (i.e., to proclaim) it is evil—just like the recitation of a hypocrite (munafiq). In the same way, the recitation by a devil is also evil, whereas the angels who recite these words—their recitation is good. Thus, it is evident that this is different from the recitation (tilawah) of the Qur’an.

Hadith Commentary:
1.
Kahin (soothsayers) claim to give news of the future and claim knowledge of the unseen; the purpose of the hadith is to negate this.
The relevance of this hadith to the chapter heading is as follows: sometimes a kahin, through the agency of a shaytan, snatches a portion of Allah’s speech, but his recitation of it—that is, his act of reciting it—is extremely evil, just like that of a hypocrite.
Similarly, when the shayatin (devils) recite Allah’s speech into the ear of a kahin, their conduct is extremely vile, whereas the recitation of the angels is very good and praiseworthy. From this, it is understood that recitation (tilawah) is the act of the servants, and the Noble Qur’an is the speech of Allah, and recitation of the Qur’an is something different from the Qur’an itself.

2.
Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah says: It appears that Imam Bukhari rahimahullah’s intent is that the recitation (tilawah) of a hypocrite is just like the recitation of a believer, but in terms of results, there is a great difference between the two, even though the recited text (matluw)—that is, the Noble Qur’an—is the same.
If recitation (tilawah) and the recited (matluw), i.e., the Qur’an itself, were one and the same, then there would not be such a difference.
Similarly, in the case of the kahin: the shayatin snatch Allah’s speech from the angel and then recite it to the kahin; now, there is a great difference in the recitation of the angel. From this perspective as well, recitation (tilawah) and the Qur’an are two different realities.
(Fath al-Bari: 13/668, 669)
Let us take this matter a bit further: the aforementioned difference is evidence that recitation (tilawah) is an act of theirs (the servants), which Allah ta‘ala has created, whereas the speech of Allah ta‘ala is uncreated, as we have already explained.