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Is it permissible to go to astrologers and to believe what they say, or not? Al-Nasaa’i narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The prayer of the one who goes to them and believes them will not be accepted.” Is this correct? Please explain to us what was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and what the scholars have said.
Praise be to Allah.
There are many ahadith which state that this is haram, such as the hadeeth narrated from Safiyah bint Abi ‘Ubayd from one of the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah 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).
Qusaybah ibn al-Mukhaariq said: “I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: ‘Al-‘ayaafah, al-tiyarah and al-turuq [kinds of augury] are all part of al-jabt [witchcraft or idolatry].’” This was narrated by Abu Dawood with a saheeh isnaad. Abu Dawood said: Al-‘ayaafah, al-khatt and al-turuq are all kinds of augury, whereby a bird is released and is watched to see whether it flies to the right or to the left. If it flies to the right it is taken as a good omen and if it flies to the left it is taken as a bad omen. Al-Jawhari said: al-jabt is a word which may be applied to idols, soothsayers, magicians, astrologers etc.
It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah 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.
It was narrated that Mu’aawiyah ibn al-Hakam said: “I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I am still close to the time of Jaahiliyyah [i.e., I am new in Islam]. Allah has brought Islam to us, but there are among us men who go to soothsayers (fortune tellers).’ He said, ‘Do not go to them.’ I said, ‘And there are men among us who practise augury [watch birds for omens].’ He said, ‘That is something which they make up. Do not believe them.’” (Narrated by Muslim).
It was narrated from Abu Mas’ood al-Badri that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade the price of a dog, the fee of a prostitute and the payment of a soothsayer. (Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim).
It was reported that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “Some people asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about soothsayers. He said, ‘They are nothing.’ They said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, sometimes they say something and it comes true.’ The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: ‘That is a word of truth that the jinn snatches and whispers into the ear of his familiar, but they mix a hundred lies with it.’” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim).
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever comes to a soothsayer and believes what he says, or has intercourse with a woman in her back passage, has nothing to do with that which has been revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).” (Narrated by Abu Dawood).
… The scholars have stated that it is haram to deal with such matters or to go to find out about them or to believe in them. It is haram to pay them money, and anyone who is suffering from any of these things must hasten to repent from it.
And Allah knows best.