Are horoscopes haram?
Astrology , horoscopes, superstition and fortune-telling are all actions of ignorance which Islam came to show as false and to explain that they are acts of polytheism. This is because they involve depending on something other than Allah and believing that benefit and harm come from something other than Him, and believing the words of fortune-tellers and soothsayers who falsely claim to have knowledge of the unseen in order to cheat people of their money and change their beliefs.
Evidence for prohibiting zodiac signs in Islam
The evidence for that is the hadith narrated by Abu Dawud in his Sunan with a sahih isnad from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever learns anything of astrology has learned a branch of witchcraft (al-sihr)…”
Al-Bazzar narrated with a sound chain of transmission from ‘Imran ibn Husayn that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “He is not one of us who practises augury or has it done for him, who tells fortunes or has his fortune told, or who practises witchcraft or has that done for him.” Whoever claims to know some matter of the unseen either is a fortune-teller or is acting like a fortune-teller in some sense, because Allah is the only One Who has knowledge of the unseen. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning);
“Say: ‘None in the heavens and the earth knows the Ghayb (Unseen) except Allah…’” [al-Naml 27:65]
How to avoid fortune-telling
My advice to everyone who has anything to do with these matters is to repent to Allah and ask for His forgiveness, and to depend only on Allah and to put their trust in Him in all their affairs, whilst following the practical means that are prescribed or permitted in shari’ah. They should give up these matters of jahiliyyah, keep away from them and avoid asking the people who practise them or believe what they say, out of obedience to AllahAllah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of AllahAllah be upon him), and in order to protect his commitment to Islam and his ‘aqidah (religious belief).
Ruling on going to astrologers and believing them
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), who narrated that he said: “Whoever goes to a soothsayer and asks him about something and believes him, his prayer will not be accepted for forty days.” (Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh).
It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever seeks knowledge from the stars is seeking one of the branches of witchcraft…” Narrated by Abu Dawood with a saheeh isnaad.
Astrology vs. astronomy
Qutaadah said: “Allaah created these stars for three purposes: to adorn the heavens, to stone the devils and as signs by which to navigate. Whoever seeks anything else in them is mistaken and does not benefit from them, and he is wasting his time and effort in seeking something of which he has no knowledge.” (Saheeh al-Bukhaari)
The study of the stars is divided into two kinds:
1- Study of the influence of the stars (astrology)
2- Study of the positions and movements of the stars (astronomy)
Study of the influence of the stars (astrology) is divided into three categories:
YOU ARE READING
Be A GOOD MUSLIM
Spiritual"Be a Good Muslim" is a book dedicated to spreading knowledge about Islam and exploring a multitude of topics within the faith. The author's aim is to offer readers a comprehensive overview of various aspects of Islam while sharing their understandi...
