Praise be to Allah Alone, and peace and blessings be upon the Final Prophet.
Given the recent prevalence of evildoers in some countries who, through feigning knowledge of medicine, employ sorcery and soothsaying in treating and exploiting naive and ignorant people, I have found it necessary to demonstrate the truly dangerous impact of this upon Islam and Muslims, because it involves attachment to other than Allah (Exalted be He) and disobedience to Him and His Messenger (peace be upon him). In fact, this emanates from the obligation to give sincere advice for the Sake of Allah to His Servants.
There is agreement between Muslim scholars that it is permissible to receive medical treatment and that a Muslim can go to a doctor of internal diseases, a surgeon, a neurologist, and so on, to diagnose their disease and prescribe the appropriate and religiously permitted medicine. This falls under the rule of adopting the proper means to reach a specific end and does not contradict Tawakkul (putting one's trust in Allah). Indeed, Allah (Glorified and Exalted be He) has created both the diseases and their cures. A cure may be known or yet to be discovered. However, Allah (Glorified be He) has not placed a cure in any prohibited thing. Thus, it is not permissible for an ill person to consult soothsayers, who claim knowledge of the Ghayb (the Unseen), and ask them about their illness. It is also not permissible for this ill person to believe what they say, for indeed, they only conjecture
or invoke Jinn (creatures created from fire) to help them do what they want. Those are regarded by Shari`ah (Islamic law) as astray and disbelieving people, in case they claim to possess knowledge of the Ghayb.
It wasrelated by Muslim in his Sahih (authentic) Book of Hadiththat the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Anyone who visits a diviner and asks him about anything, his Salah (Prayer) extending to forty nights will not be accepted.
Also, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Whoever visits a soothsayer and believes in what he says has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him). (Related by Abu Dawud and the Compilers of Hadith (Imams A lTirmidhy, AlNasa'y and Ibn Majah)) The Hadith was authenticated by AlHakim in the following wording: Whoever visits a diviner or a soothsayer and believes in what he says has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him).
On the authority of `Imran ibn Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him) who reported that Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: He is not of us who sees evil omens or has them seen for him, who practices soothsaying or has it practiced for him, and who performs sorcery or has it performed for him. And whoever goes to a soothsayer and believes in what he says has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him). (Related by AlBazzar with a good Sanad (chain of narrators))
These Hadith prohibit a Muslim from going to diviners, soothsayers, sorcerers and the like, for help and from believing what they say. The Hadith further demonstrate the evil consequences of this act. Hence, the rulers, those in authority who are responsible for propagating virtue and preventing vice, and all those who have power and influence should strongly denounce this act of consulting soothsayers and diviners; and they should ban any such practice in marketplaces and elsewhere. We should not be deceptively influenced when we find that some of what they say prove to be true nor when we observe that they are frequented by so many people, for indeed these are ignorant people whom it is not appropriate to take as an example to follow. The Messenger (peace be upon him) forbade that a Muslim should consult such people, ask them for help, and believe them, indicating that this act constitutes a grave sin and causes great dangers and evil consequences. Also, the quoted Hadith clearly point out to the persistent lying and disbelief of soothsayers and sorcerers because they feign knowledge of the Ghayb and they do not reach their goals except by serving Jinn and performing acts of worship for them apart from Allah. This is Kufr (disbelief) and Shirk (associating others with Allah in His Divinity or worship), and whoever consults them and believes their claims about knowing the Ghayb is one of them and Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) is free of them.
It is not permissible for Muslims to receive their alleged treatment by muttering and pouring of lead, in addition to other superstitious acts that they do. A person who goes along with that has indeed supported them in their falsehood and Kufr. Also, it is not permitted for a Muslim to consult such people and ask them about who would be the wife of his or her son or of a relative, or about how things would be between the married couple and their families; for