Question
I just want to know about the Islamic position of PALMISTRY. Is it forbidden in Islam? Please explain with the help of QURAN & HADITH.
Answer
Islam is not against gaining any knowledge that is useful for the human society or contributes in the development of the human mind. The only point that needs to be established is that the field of Palmistry has gained the status of a science, and thus can be categorized as useful knowledge.
Those who believe that palmistry is, in fact, a science, should first get its status generally recognized as one. Without such recognition, palmistry cannot be considered useful for the human mind or the society, in general.
The Encyclopedia Britannica writes:
… there is no scientific support for the contention that the physical features observed in palmistry have psychic or occult predictive meaning,
Till such time as the field is recognized as a science on the basis of which accurate predictions can be made, its utility in my mind remains highly questionable. Deep involvement in this field renders a person superstitious, which obviously is not approved by Islam.
God has given us our faculty to reason, understand and analyze. Islam wants us to make use of this faculty and take our decisions in the light of the guidance provided by our mind and then have faith in our Creator and Controller that He shall help us in life. Fields like palmistry have the potential of greatly affecting our personality. I have personally seen people, who are deeply involved in such fields, living their lives in superstitions and conjectures. They take their decisions, not on the basis of reason and faith, but on the basis of their (mostly inaccurate) assessments of the day, the week, the month and the year. I feel that such a behavior have rendered them completely devoid of any faith in God. Islam, on the other hand wants us to live a life of faith and reliance on God, rather than our baseless assessments about the future and about the character and quality of others.
In view of the foregoing explanation, I would not recommend a God-fearing person to involve in any such field, which is of no real utility for his life in this world or in the hereafter. Palmistry, in my opinion, belongs to this class of disciplines, till such time as its predictive nature is generally recognized to be accurate and scientific.
1st July 2000