seeks the favor of devils by offering them what they like. Thus it is polytheism in lordship, for it pretends to share in Allah’s knowledge, and polytheism in worship, for it approaches other than Allah with acts that belong solely to Him. Abu Hurayrah reports that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Whoever goes to a soothsayer and believes what he says has disbelieved in what was sent down to Muhammad” (1).

A matter that must be pointed out—and constantly kept in mind—is that sorcerers, soothsayers, and fortune-tellers toy with people’s beliefs by appearing in different guises. Some pose as physicians, instructing the sick to slaughter for other than Allah—telling them to sacrifice a sheep of such-and-such description or a chicken. Others write polytheistic talismans and satanic incantations in the form of amulets, which they have their clients hang around their necks, place in their boxes, or keep in their homes. Another group presents itself as capable of disclosing the unseen and identifying the locations of lost items: the ignorant come to them, ask about what they have misplaced, and they either inform them of it or bring it to them through their devilish agents. Still others adopt the guise of a saint endowed with extraordinary feats and wonders—such as entering a fire without it harming them—