❖ The Consequence of Believing in Magicians and Soothsayers
Written by: Imran Ayoob Lahori
◈ The Fate of the One Who Believes in a Magician
Whoever affirms the truth of a magician will not enter Paradise.
References: أحمد: 399/4 ، ابن حبان: 1381 ، أبو يعلى: 7248 ، حاكم: 146/4
◈ Definitions of the Kāhin (Soothsayer)
Scholars gave different explanations:
① One who informs about the unseen, sometimes coincidentally correct but mostly wrong.
② One who interprets events based on the stars.
③ A person who has a jinn companion that informs him of stolen words from the heavens.
As for the ʿArrāf, definitions include:
① One who tells about lost or stolen items.
② Another name for the kāhin or astrologer.
References: نيل الأوطار: 642/4 ، معالم السنن: 229/4 ، النهاية: 215/4
◈ Prophetic Warnings
① Abū Hurayrah (RA): The Prophet ﷺ said:
من أتى كاهنا أو عرافا فصدقه بما يقول فقد كفر بما أنزل على محمد
"Whoever goes to a kāhin or a ʿarrāf and believes in what he says has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad ﷺ."
Reference: أحمد: 429/2
② In another narration:
من أتى عرافا فسأله عن شيئ لم تقبل له صلاة أربعين ليلة
"Whoever goes to a ʿarrāf and asks him about anything, his prayer will not be accepted for forty nights."
Reference: مسلم: 2230
◈ Seriousness of Belief in Soothsayers
If simply confirming a soothsayer amounts to disbelief, then one who holds such belief firmly, propagates it, and causes others to fall into kufr is even more deserving of being labeled kāfir.
Reference: الروضة الندية: 629/2
◈ Astrology as a Branch of Magic
Ibn ʿAbbās (RA) narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said:
من اقتبس علما من النجوم اقتبس شعبة من السحر زاد ما زاد
"Whoever acquires knowledge of the stars has acquired a branch of magic; the more he learns, the more he learns of magic."
References: حسن: صحيح أبو داود: 3305 ، أحمد: 227/1 ، ابن ماجة: 3726
◈ Example of Abū Bakr (RA)
Abū Bakr (RA) once unknowingly ate something acquired through soothsaying. When he learned of it, he placed his finger in his throat and vomited it out.
Reference: بخاري: 3842
