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Fatwa CenterImpermissible to find stolen items through soothsayers
Question
Is it permissible to go to a Shaykh (religious scholar) to know the whereabouts of stolen property?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.
Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):
• {And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him.}[Quran 6:59]
• {Say, "None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allaah, and they do not perceive when they will be resurrected."}[Quran 27:65]
Allaah The Almighty has reserved the knowledge of the Unseen for Himself. It is He Alone who knows the Unseen and informs anyone whom He wills about some of it. He informed His Prophets and Messengers about some aspects of the Unseen.
Those who claim to have the ability to know the whereabouts of a thief and retrieve what was lost, have no means of doing so except by seeking the help of the Jinn. Thus, they are to be counted among soothsayers who claim knowledge of unknown past incidents. The Sharee‘ah (Islamic legislation) clearly states that it is impermissible to go to soothsayers and ask them about any matter. On the authority of Abu Hurayrah 
the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that anyone who goes to a soothsayer and believes in the truthfulness of his words has dissociated himself from the religion of Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. [Ahmad, Abu Daawood, An-Nasaa’i, At-Tirmithi, and Ibn Maajah]
In another Hadeeth (narration) the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that anyone who goes to a soothsayer and believes him has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. [Ahmad and Al-Haakim] He also told us that anyone who goes to a soothsayer and asks him about a matter of the Unseen, his prayers will not be accepted for forty days. [Muslim]
Consequently, it is impermissible to go to such people whom you call 'Shaykhs' in order to know the identity of the thief. Instead, you must resort to Allaah The Almighty. He is the All-Competent to restore your property or to compensate you with what is better. The loss of your property is a lesser evil than the corruption of your religion and your heart’s attachment to others than Allaah The Almighty.
And Allaah Knows best.
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