Astrology And Horoscopes

[ummtaalib]

Astrology and Horoscopes

By Mufti Ebrahim Desai (Darul Iftaa, Madrassah In'aamiyyah)
Posted: 1 Muharram 1430, 29 December 2008

 

 

 

Q.If a person shows his/her hand to a palmist, his/her 40 days' prayers are not accepted. Does this also apply to the case of someone only casually reading a horoscope?

Also, back in school, I thought only believing in palmistry was forbidden in Islam. And I didn't know that your 40 days' prayers are not accepted if you show your palm to someone. So, out of ignorance, I showed my palm to a girl who claimed to know palmistry. I did it just for fun (and not because I believed in it). When I got to know about the punishment, later on, I offered nafil-i-tauba and sought Allah's forgiveness for the same. Will I be forgiven (since it was something I did out of ignorance)?

   
Jazak-Allah Khairan [Sara]

 

 

 

A. Palmistry, fortune-telling etc are acts which are absolutely abhored and forbidden in Islam.

The degree to which these acts are forbidden could be grasped from the fact that the one who does the fortune telling has been classified as a kafir.

Similarly, the one who believes in what the fortune teller says has also been mentioned to be a kafir.

Thus we can see the severity of these acts and we can understand that showing the hand to the palmist is completely forbidden, regardless of whether one believed her or not.

 

Now, if one showed the hand or read the horoscope INTENDING to accept what was to be told, then the salah of that person for the next forty days would go unrewarded ie. the salah would not have to be repeated, but no reward would be accrued for it.

 

And if one did believe the fortune-teller or palmist, then the hadith clearly mentions this person to be out of the fold of Islam.

 

As for your showing your palm to that girl, it was wrong to do so, but as you did repent we hope that Allah Ta'ala would forgive you for it.

 

(References: Fatawa Mufti Mahmud 1/195, Ahsanul Fatawa 1/52, Khairul Fatawa 1/75, Nizamul Fatawa 1/81, Mirqaatul Mafateeh, Sharh Muslim of Nawawi)

And Allah Ta'ala Knows Best

http://www.albalagh.net/qa/0094.shtml

[ummtaalib]

Checking my Horoscope

 

Q: By curiosity I went on the net and check the characteristic of my horoscope but not what they predicts. for example they say that scorpio is strong by nature etc. Some were true but did i do shirk? I have promised not to read these things again.

A: All these things (Scorpion, Leon, Capricorn, etc.) have no basis in Islam. It is a serious sin for one to believe that his future will be determined through astrology. The knowledge of the future is known to Allah (الله تعالى) alone. Hence a Mu'min should not get involved in these baseless things nor place his reliance upon them. You should sincerely repent to Allah (الله تعالى) and make a firm resolve that you will not return to this sin in the future. Since this action is close to the actions of shirk, you should recite the kalimah excessively. 

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

وعن زيد بن خالد الجهني قال : صلى لنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم صلاة الصبح بالحديبية على أثر سماء كانت من الليل فلما انصرف أقبل على الناس فقال : " هل تدرون ماذا قال ربكم ؟ " قالوا : الله ورسوله أعلم قال : أصبح من عبادي مؤمن بي وكافر فأما من قال : مطرنا بفضل الله ورحمته فذلك مؤمن بي كافر بالكوكب وأما من قال : مطرنا بنوء كذا وكذا فذلك كافر بي ومؤمن بالكوكب (مشكاة #4596)

Answered by:

Mufti Zakaria Makada

Checked & Approved:

Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)