"Faalu Belun" ( ފާލުބެލުން ) literally translates to "investigating the things in the realm of the unknown". Faalu belun is done in several different ways. Some require the person to throw a special dice, some involve scribbling a symbol, some draw on blurting out random numbers etc. However, one of the more popular faalu belun types seem to involve "Quranic faalu belun" i.e. faalu belun using the Holy Quran. There are people who swear by it and defend it as an "authentic" means of accessing the much that lie within the bounds of the paranormal. They explain how/why it works by invoking the holiness of the book and then asserting that this said holiness is inherently inherited when utilized in the manner used in Quranic faalu belun. Then, of course, there are those who deem it invalid. They regard this practice as a human invention - a "bidua" as it is called in Arabic. They are adamant that those who seek it, practice it and believe it are in err and in sin.

Being very interested in the supposed supernatural/paranormal, I recently gave Quranic faalu belun a go. I was merely interested in experiencing such a session and observing the procedure involved in carrying it out. Here goes my experience?

The questioning
Upon my arrival the teller had me go off and do an ablution (wuloo) first. Soon as I was back, I was given the task of thinking up three questions/concerns to be queried/answered and I was asked to keep them to myself. I came up with three different questions and had them structured elegantly and any ambiguities removed - for my own sake really. Following that, we moved to a table with the Holy Quran on it and I waited as the teller quieted down and "prepared" for the session. I was then given the book, which was closed, and asked to recite the Surahs al-Fathiha, al-Ikhlas, al-Falaq and an-Nas. Then I was asked to think of my first question and say "Bismillaah - Allah Akbar" (meaning: "In the name of God, Allah is the Greatest") followed by opening of the Holy Quran at a random location by holding the cover and just letting it settle on where and how to open itself. I was to do this three times with letting it stay open the last time and passing on the book to the teller.

The analysis
The teller then "analysed" the page that had opened up. This is done by selecting the page on the right, locating the seventh verse from the start of that page. The seventh verse is supposed to shed light on a basic answer to the question. Next, the teller counts seven pages from the selected page and again locates the seventh verse on the seventh page. This verse provides extended clarification of the matter being queried. Then, the teller counts yet another seven pages from that seventh page and continues to locate the seventh verse on that final page which caps the fortune reading process.

The answer
The fortune teller spent a few minutes reading the verses and the translation of those verses before, finally, dispensing the answer that was "found" for the question. I was told that this first answer is the generic interpretation derived from the session specific to my question. The "answer" happened to be ambiguous in nature with a broad applicability. However, it could also be considered as a direct answer with limited context. The specificity of the revelation is, as with any prediction science, highly subjective. Anyhow, I was then given the option of relating my question to the teller to have the generic answer expounded and detailed on in relation to my question. The teller then spent a few minutes "explaining" the outcome of the session in relation to my specific question and fitting the answer into context.

The teller and I repeated the process for the remaining two questions. It was a fun session and all my questions returned answers that left me feeling as if I am ready to storm the multiverse. The generic answer does seem to relate to the question I had in mind - but then that could be chalked up to a creative extrapolations.

I intend on following this up with further probe sometime soon. I want to prepare some slick questions - one absurd, one valid and one inapplicable to see what answers the "true forces" that power Quranic faalu belun will leave me with. I have no expectations of proving it works or not, however, I *am* interested in seeing how the process works and see how deep the process can be dissected into the downright mechanical, human-psychological, manipulative constructs that these things usually work by. Anyway, that is to come with a different teller at a different place in a time in the future...