The ruling on attributing rain to the stars and the difference between legislated causes and invented ones
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Question:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The Honorable Shaykh says: In our previous lesson, we stated that if a person believes that rain descends by the command of Allah, but attributes it to a star in the sense of metaphor and causality, that is minor shirk (associating partners with Allah). It is forbidden and a means to shirk. The question is: Is this belief specific to the star and the constellation (al-Naw') only, or is it general in his belief that anything is a cause, such as saying, "So-and-so is a person because of the accident"? And is this rule correct and general, that attributing a cause is considered minor shirk?
Answer:
There is a distinction here; it is not absolute. Making something a cause when Allah has not made it a cause is not permissible. So, making the constellation or the star a cause for the descent of rain is invalid because Allah has not made the star a cause for the descent of rain. However, if the thing is a cause that Allah has made a cause, then eating is a cause that Allah made for satiety, and treatment is a cause that Allah made for healing, and marriage is a cause that Allah made for children. These are valid causes, and it is obligatory to take them into account.
What is prohibited is making things causes that are not causes. The constellations (al-Anwa') are not causes. The one who makes the constellations causes is a partner in shirk because Allah has not made them causes. So, there is a distinction: what Allah has made a cause, there is no harm in believing it is a cause, but one does not rely on it; rather, one relies on Allah, the Exalted. One does the cause and relies on Allah. As for what Allah has not made a cause at all, that is not permissible. We do not invent causes on our own, attribute rain to the constellations, and say they are the cause?
No, they are not the cause. Yes, the blowing of the winds and the formation of clouds in the sky are a cause that Allah has made a cause. The result may occur with them, or it may not. For example, clouds, air, and lightning are causes, unlike the stars, which are not causes at all. There is a difference between this and that. Yes.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The Honorable Shaykh says: In our previous lesson, we stated that if a person believes that rain descends by the command of Allah, but attributes it to a star in the sense of metaphor and causality, that is minor shirk (associating partners with Allah). It is forbidden and a means to shirk. The question is: Is this belief specific to the star and the constellation (al-Naw') only, or is it general in his belief that anything is a cause, such as saying, "So-and-so is a person because of the accident"? And is this rule correct and general, that attributing a cause is considered minor shirk?
Answer:
There is a distinction here; it is not absolute. Making something a cause when Allah has not made it a cause is not permissible. So, making the constellation or the star a cause for the descent of rain is invalid because Allah has not made the star a cause for the descent of rain. However, if the thing is a cause that Allah has made a cause, then eating is a cause that Allah made for satiety, and treatment is a cause that Allah made for healing, and marriage is a cause that Allah made for children. These are valid causes, and it is obligatory to take them into account.
What is prohibited is making things causes that are not causes. The constellations (al-Anwa') are not causes. The one who makes the constellations causes is a partner in shirk because Allah has not made them causes. So, there is a distinction: what Allah has made a cause, there is no harm in believing it is a cause, but one does not rely on it; rather, one relies on Allah, the Exalted. One does the cause and relies on Allah. As for what Allah has not made a cause at all, that is not permissible. We do not invent causes on our own, attribute rain to the constellations, and say they are the cause?
No, they are not the cause. Yes, the blowing of the winds and the formation of clouds in the sky are a cause that Allah has made a cause. The result may occur with them, or it may not. For example, clouds, air, and lightning are causes, unlike the stars, which are not causes at all. There is a difference between this and that. Yes.
Source
حقيقة أن النجوم ليست أسبابا في نزول المطر — alfawzan.live
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.