On the authority of ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn (may Allah be pleased with him), in a hadith traced back to the Prophet:
“He is not one of us who practices tiyarah (seeking omens) or has omens sought on his behalf; who practices soothsaying or has it practiced for him; who practices sorcery or has sorcery performed for him. And whoever goes to a soothsayer and believes what he says has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad ﷺ.” (1)
Al-Bazzār recorded this report with a good chain of transmission, and al-Ṭabarānī narrated it in al-Awsat with a fair chain from Ibn ʿAbbās, omitting the words, “And whoever goes …” to the end of the tradition.
Al-Baghawī said: The ʿarrāf is a person who claims to know matters from preliminary signs by which he identifies the thief, locates a lost animal, and the like. Some have said that he is the same as the soothsayer (kāhin).
A kāhin is one who foretells future unseen events; it is also said that he is the one who discloses what is in a person’s mind.
Abū al-ʿAbbās Ibn Taymiyyah stated: The term ʿarrāf applies to the soothsayer, the astrologer, the geomancer, and anyone else who claims knowledge of affairs by such means.
—
“He is not one of us” means that no one truly counted among our followers—those who imitate us and adhere to our law—would engage in these practices.
“Whoever practices tiyarah” refers to one who engages in taking omens.