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Kahin

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Wikis > Dictionary of Islam > Kahin
KAHIN كاهن

pl. kahanah and kuhhan. A soothsayer, or augur. The word occurs only twice in the Qur’an; and in both instances it is used for “a soothsay.”
Surah lii. 29: “For thou (Muhammad), by the favor of thy Lord, art neither a soothsayer (kahin), nor one possessed (majnun).”
The word is used in the Traditions in the same sense only:-
Mishkat, book iv. chap. i.: “The Prophet said, believe in Islam, and put not your trust in soothsayers (kahanah).”
Mishkat, book xxi. ch. ii. : “Ayishan relates that the Prophet was asked about kahanah, fortune-tellers, and he said, ‘You must not believe anything they say.’ It was then said, ‘O Prophet, why do they then sometimes tell lies?’ And the Prophet said: ‘Because one of the jinn steals away the truth and carries it to the magician’s ear, and the magicians (kuhhan) mix a hundred lies with it.'”
The Hebrew كاهنKohain, is applied in the Old Testament not only to the Jewish priests, but also to Melchizedek (Gen. xiv. 18), Potipher (Gen. xli. 45; see marginal reading in our Englich version), and to Jethro (Ex. ii. 16).

Based on Hughes, Dictionary of Islam

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