deen2u

deen2u — your one-stop center for Islamic resources: the Holy Quran, Hadith, practices, stories of the Prophets, Q&A, and how to practice Islam.

Q&A · Belief

What is the ruling on horoscopes, astrology and fortune-tellers?

Believing that any created being knows the unseen is disbelief, for "Say: none in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen except Allah" (27:65), "and with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him" (6:59), and He discloses of it only to a messenger whom He has approved (72:26-27). Horoscopes, star-signs used to predict events, palm reading and fortune-telling all fall under kahanah: the Prophet ﷺ said that whoever comes to a fortune-teller ('arraf) and asks him about something has his prayer rejected for forty nights, and that whoever believes what such a person says has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad ﷺ. Reading a horoscope "just for fun" is still forbidden, because it attaches the heart to other than Allah and normalises what the Shari'ah closed off; and an occasional correct prediction proves nothing, since as the Prophet ﷺ explained, the devils snatch a word overheard from above and the soothsayer mixes it with a hundred lies. Whoever has fallen into this should repent, renew his trust in Allah alone, and give no attention to such claims.

Evidence — the daleel
Quran 27:65Quran 6:59Quran 72:26-27Sahih Muslim, Book of Greetings (al-Salam) — narrated from one of the wives of the Prophet ﷺ: 'Whoever comes to a fortune-teller and asks him about something, his prayer is not accepted for forty nights'Sunan Abi Dawud and Sunan Ibn Majah — 'Whoever comes to a fortune-teller and believes what he says has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad ﷺ'Sahih al-Bukhari — hadith of 'A'ishah: the jinn snatch a word from the heavens and the soothsayer adds to it a hundred lies
On deen2u
Informational, not a personal fatwa. Consult a qualified scholar for rulings on your situation.

Ask your own question → All questions