Short answer
Yes. Numerology, using numbers from your name or birth date to read your character, luck or future, is haram. It is a form of fortune telling, and only Allah knows the unseen. Believing it truly reveals the future is a serious danger to faith. Ordinary maths, dates and the abjad numbers used in history and poetry are not included.
Numerology, ilm al-huruf (letter magic) and similar ways of predicting events or traits from numbers and letters are haram, like astrology and fortune telling. Believing they give knowledge of the unseen contradicts faith.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Numerology claims that numbers carry hidden powers: that your 'life path number' shapes who you are, that some numbers are lucky, or that the letters of a name can be added up to predict a marriage or a business. The Quran says that no one in the heavens or the earth knows the unseen except Allah. A practice that claims to read the unseen from numbers is a form of kahana (fortune telling).
The Prophet ﷺ said that whoever goes to a fortune teller and asks him about something, his prayer is not accepted for forty nights, and whoever believes what a soothsayer says has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad. He also called learning the knowledge of the stars a branch of magic. Ibn Abidin lists astrology, geomancy (raml) and similar arts among the forbidden branches of knowledge, and numerology belongs with them.
What falls under this:
- Life path numbers, angel numbers, 'manifesting' with 111 or 777, and numerology apps.
- Choosing a baby's name or a wedding date by its numerical value to bring luck.
- 'Islamic' numerology that adds up names with the abjad letters to predict compatibility or the future. Using Arabic letters does not make it lawful.
- Believing a number is unlucky, such as 13. See are superstitions haram.
What is fine: maths, dates and counting; the abjad numbering used in old books to record a year in a line of poetry; and counting dhikr. Many Muslims in South Asia write 786 at the top of letters to stand for Bismillah. It is not from the sunnah, and saying Bismillah is what earns the reward. Some Hanafi muftis allow writing it to keep Allah's name from being thrown away, while others advise writing Bismillah or simply saying it. The four schools agree that numerology for prediction is haram. More in Astrology in Islam.
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Naml 27:65
قُل لَّا يَعْلَمُ مَن فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ٱلْغَيْبَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ ۚ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ أَيَّانَ يُبْعَثُونَ ﴿٦٥﴾
Say, "None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allah, and they do not perceive when they will be resurrected."
Claims to read the future from numbers claim knowledge only Allah has.
Sahih Muslim 2230
Sahih... من أتى عرافا فسأله عن شيء لم تقبل له صلاة أربعين ليلة ...
"Whoever goes to a fortune teller and asks him about something, his prayer is not accepted for forty nights."
Even asking a fortune teller is a grave sin.
Sunan Abi Dawud 3904
Grading to be checked... من أتى كاهنا فصدقه بما يقول فقد برئ مما أنزل على محمد ...
"Whoever goes to a soothsayer and believes what he says has disowned what was revealed to Muhammad."
Believing such predictions endangers faith.
Sunan Abi Dawud 3905
Graded hasan... من اقتبس علما من النجوم اقتبس شعبة من السحر ...
"Whoever learns a branch of knowledge from the stars has learned a branch of magic."
Predicting from signs like stars and numbers is grouped with magic.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Muqaddima, on the branches of knowledge that are forbidden. Lists astrology, geomancy and similar arts of prediction among forbidden knowledge.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.