WAEC Islamic Religious Studies (IRS) 2019 Theory — Question 2

Model answer

POSITION OF ISLAM ON FORTUNE-TELLING Fortune-telling is the act of forecasting the future, i.e. telling people that a good or a bad thing will happen. Those who claim knowledge of the unseen are divided into two: 1. Those who have no real knowledge or secrets but rely on telling their customers about general incidences that happen to most people. 2. Those who have made contact with jinns. Both practices are discouraged with evidence from the Qur'an, Hadith and Ijma'. Evidence from the Qur'an: Allah, the Majestic, said: 'And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him' (Qur'an 6:59). Evidence from Hadith: It is reported by Imam Muslim, from the hadith of Hafsah, that she said the Prophet (S.A.W.) said: 'Whoever approaches a fortune-teller and asks him something and believes what he says, his salah will not be accepted for forty (40) days.' Finally, the whole Muslim nation has agreed by consensus (Ijma') that fortune-telling is prohibited in Islam, as is clear from the verse and hadith cited above.