Astrology and islam

Can we take guidance from Stars?

By: Khurshid Imam

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Quran 6:96 mentions that the sun and the moon can be used for calculation. We calculate the day, month, year, sunrise, sunset, eclipse and lot of events using sun and the moon. This is an example of taking guidance from sun and moon.

فَالِقُ الْإِصْبَاحِ وَجَعَلَ اللَّيْلَ سَكَنًا وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ حُسْبَانًا ذَلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ الْعَزِيزِ الْعَلِيمِ

Quran 6:97 says that Allah made stars for you so that you take guidance ['le tahtadu' - arabic word for HIDAYAT is used]. Do people deny the word of Quran? When Quran is saying that you can take HIDAYAT / guidance from stars then who has the authority to reject it? Ayah continues and says that hidayat / guidance in the darkness of the land and the sea.

وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ النُّجُومَ لِتَهْتَدُوا بِهَا فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا الْآَيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ 

What does hidayat / guidance mean? It means to show the way.

This includes guidance in navigation. Earlier people were heavily dependent on navigation on sea & land based on the position of stars. Now, today in 21st century you hardly find stars in the sky in urban areas - mainly because of pollution. How do you take guidance in the land today using star?

This ayah also indicates taking guidance in future of any aspect which is established as a science. Of course, astrology - today is not established science so it can not be believed in. But in the future, we might discover many scientific facts with respect to the star or other celestial bodies. For example - today we have discovered that the moon has an effect on the tide in the sea. This fact can be used as guidance in our life. If - in future, we establish that stars provide some other guidance then it will be beneficial for mankind.

Remember - the Quran is not bound to any era.

Words of the Quran are so generic in nature that the more you ponder over the Quran, the more knowledge you derive.

1. What Islam discourages is speculation, assumption, falsehood. Islam encourages and emphasizes on truth, fact, proven theories.

2. Palmistry - as a whole is not an established science today. The biggest proof is the fact that 10 different palmists will not give 100% same info on a subject.

3. If you ask 10 different scientists on a subject on science [proved] - then all 10 will predict the same result for a scenario and reason is that [that aspect of] science is an established fact.

4. Palmistry cannot be believed as a whole to be true because it is not part of established science. When palmistry becomes pure science then believing in it will be part of Islam.

5. Take e a very simple example.
500 years back there were some "experts" who would predict the exact time of sunrise/sunset. Of course, they would not be able to predict accurately because the science of the motion of sun / earth was not developed. Believing in such expert "that time" was speculation/assumption and hence unislamic.

Today we can predict the time of sunrise/sunset that will occur a thousand years later. How? Today we have discovered the laws of God on this subject. Its no more speculation/assumption today. So today there is no harm if you believe a scientist who predicts the exact time of sunrise that will occur after 100 years.

What Islam discourages in speculation, Islam never rejects the fact or discovered laws of God.

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