Ask not about the future (Surah Al-Maidah)

[N. Truth Seeker]

BismAllah Ar Rehman Ar Rahim

Reflections on the Qur'an

O ye who believe! Ask not of things which, if they were made unto you, would trouble you; but if ye ask of them when the Qur'an is being revealed, they will be made known unto you. Allah pardoneth this, for Allah is Forgiving, Clement.  5:101, Al-Maidah

By reading the above verse I would conclude that being inquisitive about the future (as many people are) and wanting to know about it from others claiming to be able to foretell the future is improper and a violation.  As the verse states, such inquiries were only allowed when the Quran was in the process of being revealed.  But asking about the future now would be an improper move.  This would only mean trusting other humans with knowledge about the future instead of trusting only Allah.  It would also mean encouraging people to lie because since no one but Allah knows the future, those who come up with stories about the future only lie or guess.  That's why Allah says in verse 5:101 that He will pardon people asking about the future only if they ask while the Quran is being revealed.  The term "pardon" obviously indicates that as a standard practice, for people to ask about the future from other human sources is against the wishes of Allah.

Hence, this verse dispels the ideas of the Ahadith predicting the future.  It also totally dispels the idea of people visiting phoneys such as fortune tellers, palmists, crystal ball or tarrot card readers etc. seeking to know the future.

There are also many other verses in the Quran that make it very plain that no one except Allah can know the unseen.  That automatically invalidates any claims from anyone claiming to knowing the future.   The reason I selected verse 5:101 to highlight this point is because here Allah mentions that one's desire to know the future was acceptable only during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) when the Quran was being revealed.

To conclude, it's also important to make the following clarification.  Wanting to know the future must not be confused as the same act as planning one's future e.g. making future plans regarding career, marriage, raising a family, finances etc. etc.  These are simply rational and practical issues and completely different from the matter of the unseen.   

[AceOfHearts]

Peace brother,

Excellent work. Interesting way you're looking at the Verse! Will analyse more. But thanks very much brother

[Zainab_M]

Yes, very interesting and informative piece.  The culture of consulting phoney spiritualists like "pirs, dervaishes and saints" and asking them to narrate the future is quite common among many Muslims.  It's a very ignorant practice.  Not to mention that these phoney fortune tellers so often take advantage of peoples' vulnerability.  They tell lies to their clients and extract big money as "fees."  It's particularly sad to see how much their clients trust the words of their so-called saints.   If only they trusted and loved Allah as much as that, they would have acquired much greater peace of mind and made good provision for the Hereafter.  

Thanks for the posting brother pt.  

Salaams and peace