Explanation of the author's statement: And Ibn 'Abbas said, regarding a group who write "Abu Jad" and look at the stars: "I do not see that whoever does that has any portion with Allah."

The Shaykh :"And Ibn 'Abbas said, regarding a group who write Abu Jad and look at the stars:

I do not see

ما أَرى

" It is permissible If it is "ma ara" (I do not see), the meaning is "I do not know," and if it is "ma ura" (I am not shown), the meaning is "I do not think." Khalaq means a portion. They write Abu Jad. What is Abu Jad? Abu Jad is Abjad, Hawwaz. Do you know? ABJAD, HAWWAZ, HATTI, KALIMAN, SAFAVAS, QARASHAT, THAKHIDH, DADHAGH. Yes, these are the letters of Abjad Hawwaz. Learn that Abu Jad is divided into two categories:
Learn that it is permissible to learn it for the calculation of letters (hisab al-jamal) and the like. There is nothing wrong with that. People have continued to use it, even scholars who date things with it. Yes, our Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him) said in the history of the mosque that was demolished to be rebuilt:
"Jad with satisfaction, and give the wish *** To those who helped in this building
Its date when it was completed *** The saying of the repentant: Forgive us"
This is the old congregational mosque. By what did they calculate its date? By the calculation of letters, Abjad Hawwaz.
"And the month is Shawwal, O *** Lord, accept our effort"
Yes, "Forgive us." This is a date. Do we need to calculate it now? There is no harm. "Forgive us": the hamza is one, and the ghayn is a thousand (from DADHAGH, the last of the Abjad letters). DADHAGH: the ghayn is a thousand. "Forgive us": the ghayn is a thousand, and the fa is eighty. I think it is eighty. I think it is eighty. Abjad is four, Hawwaz is seven, Hatti is ten, Kaliman: the kaf is twenty, the lam is thirty, the mim is forty, the nun is fifty. Safavas: the sin is sixty, the 'ayn is seventy, the ghayn... no, no.
The fa is eighty. Okay, "Forgive" becomes one thousand and eighty. This is one thousand and eighty-one. The ra is two hundred. Qarashat: the ra is two hundred. Ha and the lam. The lam, we said, how much? ... Thirty. And the mim is forty, fifty. Okay, in any case, it is one thousand and three hundred and sixty-three. It comes out to one thousand and three hundred and sixty-three.
Okay. And for al-Shafi'i, in the date of al-Shafi'i's death, and for al-Shafi'i, "dar" and "warn" for Ibn Hanbal. It says, "For Numan them..." And for al-Shafi'i, "dar" and "warn" for Ibn Hanbal. I forgot the verse before it. And for al-Shafi'i, "dar" and "warn" for Ibn Hanbal. How much is "dar"? How much is "dar"? Ha, these letters are ABJAD, HAWWAZ, HATTI, KALIMAN, SAFAVAS, QARASHAT, THAKHIDH, DADHAGH. Look, you start with the singles, then the tens, then the hundreds, until you reach the thousand... Abjad: the hamza is one, the ba is two, the jim is three, the dal is four.
We said that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And is it possible to know if his writing matches or not? And in that case, writing on the ground would be forbidden, because we cannot know if the writing of this Prophet matches or not. Or is it said: The writing of the Prophet is by divine revelation, and the writing of the sorcerer is by satanic revelation, so there is a difference between them. It is not possible, nor can it be imagined, that a writing matching the Prophet's writing would exist for a non-prophet. It is not possible for a non-prophet to have such a writing, because as long as it is revelation, revelation is specific to the prophets. Yes, that is right.
The student: What is the benefit of his saying... .

The Shaykh : The benefit is so that no one argues with this if it reached him through another path. Yes.
With this... an astrologer, a sorcerer, and others. It has come before us that Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said regarding a group who write Abu Jad, and we explained Abu Jad, and we said that it is the Abjad letters, which are gathered in his saying. Where? This is established for you. Have you read it?
The student: ABJAD, HAWWAZ, HATTI, KALIMAN, SAFAVAS, THAKHIDH, DADHAGH.

The Shaykh : No.
The student: ABJAD, HAWWAZ, HATTI, KALIMAN, SAFAVAS, Qarashat, THAKHIDH, DADHAGH.

The Shaykh : Zayn, Dhad, Dhah, and Ghayn. Okay. And we said that these letters were used in calculation. The first letter is one, until it reaches ten, then by tens until it reaches a hundred, then by hundreds until it reaches a thousand. These are they. Many scholars in the middle ages and after took care of them. It is said that you hardly find anyone who does not calculate with them. Yes, even in jurisprudential and grammatical poems and others. He says: His verses in the count are "dar." How much is "dar"? Two hundred and four. Yes. And they also date with them the births and deaths of scholars. But now, I believe its use has decreased. Ibn 'Abbas does not mean the use of these letters for numbers and divisions, but he said: If they were writing Abu Jad and looking at each phrase independently, the meaning would not hold. But the meaning is that they write this writing connected to what? To the movements of the stars and their motions, their rising and setting. So they write and look. And his saying: To infer by agreement or disagreement what will happen on earth, either in general or in particular. In general, by saying, for example, a drought or war or a general epidemic disease or the like will happen. And in particular, like saying to a person, you will have good luck or bad luck, or illness, or poverty, or the loss of a child, or the like. So they connect this to that. And it is known that there is no cause for the difference in the movements of the stars and the difference in events on earth. And his saying: It is permissible So "ma ura" with a damma means "I do not think," and "ma ara" means "I do not know." And his saying: Or Khalaq means a portion. The apparent meaning is that he sees their disbelief, because the one who has no portion with Allah is the disbeliever, since the portion is not absolutely denied from any of the believers. The believer has a portion, even if he has sins and is punished according to his sins, if he is not forgiven for them. Then his final state becomes the portion he finds with Allah. So it is derived from the words of Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that this method used by these people necessitates disbelief. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) did not clarify the ruling of the soothsayer, the astrologer, and the diviner regarding punishment in this world. That is because if we rule that they are disbelievers, the matter is clear. What is their ruling in this world? They are asked to repent. If they repent, otherwise they are killed as disbelievers. But if we say they are not disbelievers, because it is sorcery that does not reach disbelief, as mentioned before, or if we say they are not declared disbelievers because there is disagreement in the issue, then they must also be killed. They must be killed to repel their harm and damage, even if we say they are not disbelievers, because the causes of killing are not specific to disbelief only. There are multiple and varied causes. So whoever corrupts the religious or worldly affairs of the people, he is asked to repent. If he repents, otherwise he is killed, especially if these matters lead to being expelled from Islam.
Okay, what is the ruling on looking at the stars in itself?
Looking at the stars in itself is divided into categories. First: To infer from them, i.e., from the movements and courses of the stars, about earthly events, whether general or specific. The ruling on this is prohibition, and it may reach the degree of disbelief or shirk (associating partners with Allah) less than disbelief, depending on the person's state. If he believes that these stars are the managers of affairs or that they have a share in this, it is disbelief that expels one from the religion. And if he believes them to be a cause only, his disbelief does not expel him from the religion, but it is called disbelief due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): And it has come before us that this disbelief is divided into two categories according to the belief of its holder.
The second category: To look at the stars and learn their courses and movements to infer from them the seasons, times of sowing and harvesting, planting, and the like. This is from the permissible matters. It is permissible because he uses it to assist in worldly matters, so it is from the permissible matters.
The third category: To learn them to know the times, the times of prayers, the directions of the qiblah, and the like of the prescribed matters. So learning here is prescribed. It may be an individual obligation. The important thing is that it is prescribed. So it is clear that learning the stars is divided into these three categories. And what do you say, Ya Salim?

The questioner : The difference between... .

The Shaykh : The difference.

The questioner : Meaning, both... .

The Shaykh : Yes, the apparent is a difference in expression only, a difference in expression.