Do soothsaying and divination result in apostasy?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alyhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

A soothsayer is a person who claims that he has insight into matters of the Unseen, tells about future events, and claims to know secret matters. A diviner is someone who claims to know, for example, the whereabouts of lost or stolen items and guides people to them. According to the predominant opinion of scholars, soothsaying, divination and the claim to have insight into matters of the Unseen, all result in apostasy.

It was narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, warned that whoever went to a soothsayer or a diviner and believed in what he said has thereby disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. [At-Tirmithi, Abu Daawood and Ibn Maajah]  If the person who seeks help from a soothsayer and believes him is an apostate, then the case of the person who claims to be a soothsayer is even worse. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):

·        {And with Him are the keys of the Unseen; none knows them except Him.} [Quran 6: 59]

·        {[He is] Knower of the Unseen, and He does not disclose His [knowledge of the] Unseen to anyone. Except whom He has approved of messengers, and indeed, He sends before each messenger and behind him observers.} [Quran 72: 26-27]

·        {Say, "None in the heavens and earth knows the Unseen except Allaah, and they do not perceive when they will be resurrected."} [Quran 27: 65]

The term 'Unseen’ in Arabic refers to matters that are unknown to man. The technical meaning in the Sharee‘ah refers to the matters that cannot be known through ordinary means, but only through divine revelation.

Claiming soothsaying and divination contradicts the fact that Allaah The Almighty alone knows the Unseen. In this regard, Muslims unanimously agree that if someone believes that a certain person knows the Unseen or if he himself claims to have insight into matters of the Unseen, he has apostatized.

Allaah Knows best.