Q 181: What is the ruling pertaining to Soothsayers?
A--- Soothsayers are considered from among the Taghuts (28) who are helpers of the devils who inspire them as mentioned by Allah the Almighty: {And certainly, the Shayatin (devils) do inspire their friends (from mankind) to dispute with you, and if you obey them (by making AIMaitah (a dead animal) legal by eating it], then you would indeed be Mushrikun (polytheists); [because they (devils and their friends) made lawful to you to eat that which Allah has made unlawful to eat and you obeyed them by considering it lawful to eat, and by doing so you worshipped them; and to worship others besides Allah is polytheism]}. (AlAn-' am, 121)
They descend upon them, disclosing what they may hear and they add to it one-hundred lies of their own. Allah the Almighty says: {Shall I inform you (O people!) upon whom the Shayatin (devils)
descend? They descend on every lying, sinful person. Who gives ear (to the devils and they pour what they may have heard of the Unseen from the angels), and most of them are liars}. (Ash Shu' ra', 221-223)
Narrated `A'ishah (May Allah be pleased with her): Some people asked the Prophet (Peace be upon him) regarding the soothsayers. He said:
"They are nothing." They said: "O Allah's Messenger! Some of their talks come true. "The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: "That word which happens to be true is what a Jinn snatches away by stealth (from the Heaven) and pours it in the ears of his friend (the foreteller) with a sound like the cackling of a hen. The soothsayers then mix with that word, one hundred lies.” (29) (Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah)
(28) The word Taghut covers a wide range of meanings: It means anything worshipped other than the Real God (Allah) i.e. all the false deities. It may be Satan, devils, idols, stones, sun, stars, angels, human beings e.g. Messengers of Allah, who were falsely worshipped and taken as Taghuts. Likewise saints, graves, rulers, leaders etc. are falsely worshipped and wrongly followed.
Sometimes "Taghut" means a false judge who gives as false judgement. (Quoted by Translator)
(29) Narrated `A'ishah (May Allah be pleased with her): I heard Allah's Messenger (Peace be upon him) saying, "The angels descend on the clouds and mention this or that matter decreed in the Heaven. The devils listen stealthily to such a matter, come down to inspire the soothsayers with it, and the latter would add to it one-hundred lies of their own." (Sahih Bukhari)
Narrated `A'ishah (May Allah be pleased with her): The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said: "While the angels talk amidst the clouds about things that are going to happen on earth, the devils hear a word of what they say and pour it in the ears of a soothsayer as one pours something in a bottle, and they add one hundred lies to that (one word)." (Sahih Bukhari, quoted by translator)