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I have heard that predicting the future is haram in Islam because only God knows the future and we cannot predict what only God knows (some say it is almost shirk). My question is: Is predicting the future haram? To what extent it is and to what extent it is not.

  • Is predicting the weather wrong in Islam?
  • Is predicting the moon's location scientifically haram because only God know when it is going to reveal itself?
  • Is there any prediction that is allowed, if yes which type of prediction are they?

Thanks

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  • Is there any basis that says prediction should be haram?
    – Muz
    Commented Aug 18, 2012 at 15:17
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    I think you need to understand what weather prediction means. "Prediction" is more of media name. In reality, numerical models are used to simulate the behavior. And the academic circle knows that "all models are wrong" but some are just useful to understand the behavior. This isn't same as astrological prediction (which is haraam). Moreover, if you listen to weather forecast, they say "it is likely to rain" and not, "it will rain".
    – Abdullah
    Commented Aug 18, 2012 at 16:57
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    If predicting is haraam, then it's haraam to predict salaah times too, which would make things very interesting indeed... I think what you're referring to is attempting to see the unseen. So there is a different. We are not supposed to see the unseen, but nothing wrong with predicting. The difference is that predicting can be seen using mathematics for example, trying to see the unseen can partially be done by using jinn which is totally haraam.
    – oshirowanen
    Commented Aug 19, 2012 at 10:45
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    @Thecrocodilehunter, Predicting that which can be calculated is one thing, mathematics hasn't been made haraam for muslims as far as I know, using jin to find out the unseen which humans should not know about is something totally different. This has definitely been make haraam. So the 2 are very very different. Predicting the future is very different from knowing the future.
    – oshirowanen
    Commented Aug 19, 2012 at 12:14
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    @Thecrocodilehunter the quran does not say only Allah knows whats in the womans womb it says "Allah knows what every female carries and what the wombs lose [prematurely] or exceed. And everything with Him is by due measure" it dosent say that Allah explicitly knows and no one else does, or that we cannot obtain that knowledge
    – NesreenA
    Commented Aug 19, 2012 at 17:47

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There are 2 key points here;

  1. What is the base of information
  2. How certain is the claim.

If one is basing his prediction on observation and calculations it doesn't fall under fortune-telling and it is not haraam. In cases like weather prediction, it may look unseen phonemana for common man because they don't understand how people come up with predictions. However, we know that they aren't predicting weather using jinns or dreams etc. but using observable evidence.

On the other hand, claiming knowledge about future is haraam. Meaning, you can't claim you know it is going to rain tomorrow, but it is ok to claim based on present evidence and personal experience, it is likely to rain tomorrow..

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Prediction is not necessarily prediction; it might actually be inferences or even observations.

As oshirowanen mentioned, there are two kinds of predictions: Magical Prediction and Scientific Prediction.

Scientific Prediction (Actually I don't believe them as prediction)

The term "Scientific prediction" is a misnomer .The correct terms are Scientific Inference, Statistical Inference, Computation or Calculation. None of which predict unseen in the literal sense, but do give a rough estimate given historical data.

Weather forecasting and similar predictions fall into this category. They're usually statistical and probabilistic approaches. So like any other helpful science they are not haram (And Allah knows best).

Magical Prediction

As Wikipedia states, they are definitely haram . The evidence for this is found in the following ayah:

They followed what the evil ones gave out (falsely) against the power of Solomon: the blasphemers were, not Solomon, but the evil ones, teaching men magic, and such things as came down at Babylon to the angels Harut and Marut. But neither of these taught anyone (such things) without saying: "We are only for trial; so do not blaspheme." They learned from them the means to sow discord between man and wife. But they could not thus harm anyone except by Allah's permission. And they learned what harmed them, not what profited them. And they knew that the buyers of (magic) would have no share in the happiness of the Hereafter. And vile was the price for which they did sell their souls, if they but knew!

[Baqarah: 102]

However, some of the prophets were able and allowed to predict the unseen future with the permission and help of Allah (of course again not magically, the knowledge was directly from Allah), as evidenced by the following ayat:

عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلَا يُظْهِرُ‌ عَلَىٰ غَيْبِهِ أَحَدًا

[He is] Knower of the unseen, and He does not disclose His [knowledge of the] unseen to anyone

إِلَّا مَنِ ارْ‌تَضَىٰ مِن رَّ‌سُولٍ فَإِنَّهُ يَسْلُكُ مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ رَ‌صَدًا

Except whom He has approved of messengers, and indeed, He sends before each messenger and behind him observers

[Al-Jinn: 26-27]

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Is predicting weather wrong in Islam?

According to this fatwa, the answer to this question is no, it's not wrong.

Predicting moon scientifically is haram because only God know when it is going to reveal itself?

The same fatwa as above answers this question and the answer is no, it's not haraam.

Is there any prediction that is allowed,

Predictions via calculations, observations, experience are fine. Read this fatwa, this is the same as the 2 links above.

if yes which type of prediction are they?

This becomes an invalid question as the answer was no for the question above. However, attempting to obtain knowledge of the future via jinn/fortune tellers is haraam. Have a look at this fatwa.

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  • This cannot be calculated, and can only be known via jinn etc. Do you claim jinn have knowledge of future? If not, I suggest you repharase that sentence, because it looks like it.
    – user44
    Commented Aug 19, 2012 at 14:40
  • @yasar11732, I updated my post accordingly. I should not have assumed that it was common knowledge that jinn can eavesdrop on angels.
    – oshirowanen
    Commented Aug 19, 2012 at 15:11
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    Thanks. I think it is better not to assume any prior knowledge on this site, since it is aimed for broad audience.
    – user44
    Commented Aug 19, 2012 at 15:48
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There are some people that they say the current situation of a person by looking at the quran and the facts in it... For example they say " i have a feeling that you will get married soon" , " you are going through bad days?" Is these type of predictions taken by looking at the quran is right or wrong? Is it a sin?

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