How can we reconcile the hadith "Whoever goes to a diviner and asks him about something, and believes him, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days" with the hadith "Whoever goes to a soothsayer and believes what he says has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad," given that the first does not indicate disbelief while the second does?

There is no contradiction between the two hadiths:

- The hadith: "Whoever comes to a diviner or a soothsayer and believes what he says, has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad," refers to someone who believes the soothsayer's claim to knowledge of the unseen. This is considered disbelief because it contradicts Allah's saying: "Say, 'None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allah.'" (An-Naml/65).

- The hadith: "Whoever comes to a diviner and asks him about anything, his prayer will not be accepted for forty nights," narrated by Muslim. This applies to merely asking a question without believing.

So, whoever asks a diviner, his prayer will not be accepted for forty nights, but if he believes him, he has disbelieved.