Following up on this question – I was watching an online lecture where Sayed Mahdi Modaressi was speaking about a man from Qom who was apparently “given” the ability to tell everyone’s fortune by reading a Quranic Ayah or just telling their fortune, how can this story be legitimate if – as you mentioned so articulately above – only Allah knows the future? Secondly, why are scholars promoting stories like this if as you mentioned- they weaken peoples faith in God and can lead to polytheism? I appreciate your response as this is something that has been on my mind.

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Basically this scholar in Qom did not know the future. However, by looking at the Qur’an and examining its verse, he would be inspired to know what the intention of the person is. For example, he’d say to him: your intention is to get married and this girl is good for you (and it would turn out to be accurate and true). This is not fortune telling. This is being inspired by the holy Qur’an due to his piety.