Q:

Is predicting the future haram?

I have heard that predicting the future is haram in Islam because only God knows the future and we cannot predict what only God knows (some say it is almost shirk). My question is: Is predicting the future haram? To what extent it is and to what extent it is not.

Is predicting the weather wrong in Islam?
Is predicting the moon's location scientifically haram because only God know when it is going to reveal itself?
Is there any prediction that is allowed, if yes which type of prediction are they?

Thanks

A:

Prediction is not necessarily prediction; it might actually be inferences or even observations.
As oshirowanen mentioned, there are two kinds of predictions: Magical Prediction and Scientific Prediction.
Scientific Prediction
(Actually I don't believe them as prediction)
The term "Scientific prediction" is a misnomer .The correct terms are Scientific Inference, Statistical Inference, Computation or Calculation. None of which predict unseen in the literal sense, but do give a rough estimate given historical data.
Weather forecasting and similar predictions fall into this category. They're usually statistical and probabilistic approaches. So like any other helpful science they are not haram (And Allah knows best).
Magical Prediction
As Wikipedia states, they are definitely haram .  The evidence for this is found in the following ayah:

They followed what the evil ones gave out (falsely) against the power of Solomon: the blasphemers were, not Solomon, but the evil ones, teaching men magic, and such things as came down at Babylon to the angels Harut and Marut. But neither of these taught anyone (such things) without saying: "We are only for trial; so do not blaspheme." They learned from them the means to sow discord between man and wife. But they could not thus harm anyone except by Allah's permission. And they learned what harmed them, not what profited them. And they knew that the buyers of (magic) would have no share in the happiness of the Hereafter. And vile was the price for which they did sell their souls, if they but knew!
[Baqarah: 102]

However, some of the prophets were able and allowed to predict the unseen future with the permission and help of Allah (of course again not magically, the knowledge was directly from Allah), as evidenced by the following ayat:

عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلَا يُظْهِرُ‌ عَلَىٰ غَيْبِهِ أَحَدًا
[He is] Knower of the unseen, and He does not disclose His [knowledge of the] unseen to anyone
إِلَّا مَنِ ارْ‌تَضَىٰ مِن رَّ‌سُولٍ فَإِنَّهُ يَسْلُكُ مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ رَ‌صَدًا
Except whom He has approved of messengers, and indeed, He sends before each messenger and behind him observers
[Al-Jinn: 26-27]

A:

There are 2 key points here;

What is the base of information
How certain is the claim.

If one is basing his prediction on observation and calculations it doesn't fall under fortune-telling and it is not haraam. In cases like weather prediction, it may look unseen phonemana for common man because they don't understand how people come up with predictions. However, we know that they aren't predicting weather using jinns or dreams etc. but using observable evidence.
On the other hand, claiming knowledge about future is haraam. Meaning, you can't claim you know it is going to rain tomorrow, but it is ok to claim based on present evidence and personal experience, it is likely to rain tomorrow..
source

A:

Is predicting weather wrong in Islam?

According to this fatwa, the answer to this question is no, it's not wrong.

Predicting moon scientifically is haram because only God know when it
  is going to reveal itself?

The same fatwa as above answers this question and the answer is no, it's not haraam.

Is there any prediction that is allowed,

Predictions via calculations, observations, experience are fine.  Read this fatwa, this is the same as the 2 links above.

if yes which type of prediction are they?

This becomes an invalid question as the answer was no for the question above. However, attempting to obtain knowledge of the future via jinn/fortune tellers is haraam.  Have a look at this fatwa.

