If God forbids predicting future,then what about weather forecasting and like?

[Ervin]

Selam.

In the following verse God forbids the predicting of future:

5:90 O you who believe, intoxicants, and gambling, and sacraments, and fortunes are an affliction used by the devil. You shall avoid him so that you may be successful. 5:91 The devil only wants to cause strife between you through intoxicants and gambling, and to repel you away from remembering God and from the contact prayer. Will you be detered?

Ok, now if God forbids fortunes( in some other translations it says arrows), then would things like weather forecasting be forbidden since that is predicting future?

What about economic predictions and other stuff? Only God and those who He reveals the future to( prophets and maybe angels and maybe someone else ends up knowing a little bit) know the future.

So how could a Muslim go to a tarot reader for instance, hand over money and expect for him to tell him his future? It says clearly its the work of shaytan so I say to know the current temperature is alright but to believe that the forecast will be right would be shirk!

What do the rest of you brothers and sisters believe on this subject?

[youssef4342]

This would be a touchy subject.
well, weather forecasting would be more scientific than heretical....
Is it not about analyzing atmospheric conditions (etc), then coming up with reflective weather conditions or an educated guess...

God Almighty has cited to us CLoud formation and rain formation in the Quran
http://www.miraclesofthequran.com/scientific_44.html

we can analyze these weather conditions and form an educated guess....
it's not like tarot cards and invoking devils etc......
in 46:24 we see people analyzing their environment and making an educated guess...they guessed wrong, but it wasn't called shirk/idol worship


God Almighty has put systems in place, we can see these systems apparent in both nature and in ourselves...
if you eat unhealthy, you will become unhealthy.... can i predict this? or is it a fact?
Nations rise and fall... can i predict this? or is it a fact (17:58).....
Prophecies were given in the Quran.... these weren't our predictions...

God almighty has readily gave us glimpses into the future, especialy with the ressurection day, and what will happen to believers and disbelievers.
Nations will rise and fall, people will be recompensed for their works... etc...

[Kaiokenred]

Weather forecast is based on facts.

No human can predict  somebody else's future.

[youssef4342]

Also another thing is the Sun and moon being as calculating devices.
We could calculate when is the next full/new moon, low/high tide...
It wouldn't be so much prediction, but more observation and educated guess.

[Zulf]

You can make educated guesses from seeing trends and cause-and-effect chains... whether it is in finance, weather, social dynamics, people's good and bad deeds, or similar things. It is based on reason, logic and experience.

Also, some people do get "flashes" or "insights" into future events, although perhaps limited and not too exact. I've seen it happen beyond reason and coincidence. This is however not a social issue, as this ability is highly rare and also cannot be used for anything... except perhaps throwing a "told you so". Its just a highly personal thing. (If you don't believe it, please don't comment on it).

However, what the quran is talking about is something else. To me it seems to be non-constructive things that finally will end up bringing you down rather than up. People can't predict the future and shouldn't claim to be able to for a cheap gain, profiting on weak peoples' hopes. Allah seems to be referring to destructive systems.... as far as I can see.

peace

[youssef4342]

predicting the weather is would be based on observations etc...
Going to a psychic is different...

[Student of Allah]

Selam.

In the following verse God forbids the predicting of future:

5:90 O you who believe, intoxicants, and gambling, and sacraments, and fortunes are an affliction used by the devil. You shall avoid him so that you may be successful. 5:91 The devil only wants to cause strife between you through intoxicants and gambling, and to repel you away from remembering God and from the contact prayer. Will you be detered?

Ok, now if God forbids fortunes( in some other translations it says arrows), then would things like weather forecasting be forbidden since that is predicting future?

What about economic predictions and other stuff? Only God and those who He reveals the future to( prophets and maybe angels and maybe someone else ends up knowing a little bit) know the future.

So how could a Muslim go to a tarot reader for instance, hand over money and expect for him to tell him his future? It says clearly its the work of shaytan so I say to know the current temperature is alright but to believe that the forecast will be right would be shirk!

What do the rest of you brothers and sisters believe on this subject?

Shalom aleikhem Ervin,

How are you ?

I do not think that the "fortune" thing has anything to do with what you fear may be "fortune" like..for example...predicting the weather.

The fortune telling thing is based on bullsh*t, founded by idiots who scam people either knowingly or due to their delusions. Horoscopes/Astrology is a close cousin of such dogmas.

God could not have spoken about future-predicting in the sense you are investigating it. Otherwise, predicting the future is the way our brain functions and made us dominate in this earth. Before you touch a hot cup, you predict the outcome by simulating that in your brain. Before you do almost any task, your brain starts predicting the outcome. When you use the brakes on your car, you are predicting, based on your experience.

I hope you get my point.

Peace be on you

-------------------- Student of Allah

[progressive1993]

Weather forecasting is based on science (weather geography/meteorology). Things are measured and observed and a conclusion is made - a weather forecast. It is not arbitrary BS like what a card fortune teller does. Human "fortune telling" goes against  the concept of free will anyways. If a fortune teller says you will encounter a man with a long beard outside your favorite restaurant this weekend, then you can simply choose no to go to the restaurant.. and voila, the "fortune teller's" prediction was wrong.

Same thing with finance - it is based on observation. The price of a stock, for instance, can be predicted by the psyche of the investors, how the firm is doing currently, the state of the economy, cost of goods, etc. It is all based on facts - a conclusion from facts, ie. science.

I recommend you read up a few things on meteorology and weather geography as well as finance before you bash them.

Also, the intention is very different between these cases. In finance and geography/merteorology, the scientists and analysts are actually trying to help and are basing it on evidence, whereas the fortune tellers are babbling BS with no scientific foundation whatsoever. I mean, come on, how are you gonna predict the future of a person with free will? Weather does not have a free will - God controls it, and stock prices are affected by outside factors - they also don't determine their prices by themselves

[farida]

Salaam
Weather forcast does not predict future its is about what's already in the atmosphere and past patterns, so  far no one including NASA can predict accurately weather for next seasons.
Long before technology was developed to predict the weather, people had to rely on observation, patterns and folk lore to avoid being caught off-guard by the elements. Here's how to try predicting the weather on your own.
http://www.wikihow.com/Predict-the-Weather-Without-a-Forecast

[youssef4342]

Peace Farida
Thank you for sharing,
I would like to comment about number 3 on that website. This actually brought the memory of what would be  the NT Mathew 16:2-3
'He replied, ?When evening comes, you say, ?It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,? and in the morning, ?Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.? You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.'