What are the situations in which a priest may be consulted, and what is the ruling for each situation?

The ruling on one who consults a soothsayer or diviner varies depending on their situation and can be confined to three cases:

1. One who believes him, thinking he knows the unseen: Such a person commits an act of disbelief (kufr) that expels them from the fold of Islam, based on the words of Allah Almighty: ﴿Say, "None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allah."﴾ [An-Naml: 65], and the saying of the Prophet ﷺ: "Whoever comes to a soothsayer or diviner and believes what he says, has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad." If one believes him while still believing that he does not know the unseen, there is a difference of opinion among scholars: some say it is an act of disbelief that expels one from Islam, while others say it is a minor form of disbelief, constituting a major sin.

2. One who consults him merely to ask a question without believing him: This person has not committed an act of disbelief (kufr), but has committed a major sin, and the reward for their prayers is withheld for forty days, based on the saying of the Prophet ﷺ: "Whoever comes to a diviner and asks him about something, his prayer will not be accepted for forty nights."

3. One who consults him to expose his lies or to denounce him: This is permissible and earns the person reward. It may even be obligatory, as it falls under the category of enjoining good and forbidding evil.