Explanation of Riyad al-Salihin-87b
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The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Chapter on the Prohibition of Visiting Fortune-Tellers and Astrologers
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said:Riyad as-Salihin 1668 Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim
And in a narration by al-Bukhari from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), she heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say:Riyad as-Salihin 1668 And from Safiyyah bint "
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book Riyad al-Salihin: "Chapter on the Prohibition of Visiting Fortune-Tellers, Astrologers, and the Like"
Fortune-tellers is the plural of fortune-teller, and a fortune-teller is one who informs -be quiet, you children, be quiet- a fortune-teller is one who informs about hidden matters in the future, saying for example, such and such will happen on such and such a day, or he says to a person, you will be happy on such and such a day, or an accident will befall you on such and such a day, or the like of that. These are the fortune-tellers.
As for astrologers, they are those who make the knowledge of stars their profession, meaning they take it as a trade. But the knowledge of stars is divided into two categories: permissible and forbidden.
We are speaking about fortune-tellers. Fortune-tellers are people from the children of Adam who have close friends from the jinn. Allah the Exalted has given the jinn great power over things, speed and strength. They ascend to the sky, and each one of them has a specific seat from which they steal the hearing, meaning what they hear from the angels. Then Allah Blessed and Exalted decrees the matter in the sky, and they snatch something from it, and they descend with it to their close friends from among the humans, the children of Adam, who are the fortune-tellers. Then this fortune-teller adds to what he heard from the sky, as the Prophet (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) said, and he is the truthful one, a hundred lies. Meaning they add to what they heard, and it happens that this word heard from the sky comes to pass as the jinn heard it. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) mentionedMishkat al-Masabih 3641 The jinn became, as Allah mentioned about them, they said: [Al-Jinn 72:9] meaning from the sky So when the Prophet (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) was sent, whenever a jinn sat in his seat to listen, a meteor of fire came to him and burned him. [Al-Jinn 72:9] meaning you do not care about them, nor do you take their words, nor do you concern yourselves with their matter. So the Prophet (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) informed that this truth that comes to pass is mixed with a hundred lies, and its cause is that the jinn who has a close friend from among the humans snatches the news from the sky and inspires it to his close friend from among the humans, so he speaks, and then what was true comes to pass, and what was false is forgotten by people, forgotten by people, as if it had not been.
We must lie to these fortune-tellers and not believe them. Whoever visits them, asks them, and believes them has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), meaning he disbelieved in the Qur'an. The aspect of his disbelief is that Allah the Exalted said:[An-Naml 27:65] So if these people claim knowledge of the unseen and a person believes them, the substance of his believing them is contradicting the word of Allah: [An-Naml 27:65] And the mention of this hadith and the discussion of it will come, if Allah wills, and the discussion of it.
As for astrologers, they are those who engage in the knowledge of stars. The knowledge of stars is of two types:
One type is permissible, and it is called the knowledge of navigation, meaning the knowledge of the movement of stars. It is used to determine the seasons and the length and shortness of the day. There is no harm in this, no blame, and no problem with it, because people use it to guide themselves to their interests.
And among that is the knowledge of the directions of stars. For example, the North Pole is known as the direction of the north, and the star Canis Major is known as being near the pole on the northern side. It is used to determine the qiblah and the directions. Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nahl 16:15-16] meaning the mountains [An-Nahl 16:16] They are guided in the darkness of the land and the sea. If there is no cloud covering the stars, they are guided by them. For example, the pole is here in al-Qasim. If you want to face the qiblah, place it behind your right ear. If you place it behind your right ear, you have faced the qiblah. And in every region, there is a direction according to it. So the knowledge of navigation is what a person learns for time and place. For time, such as the seasons, the time of winter has entered, the time of summer has entered. For place, the directions, it is used to determine the directions. There is no harm in this.
As for the second type: it is the knowledge of influence, opposite to the knowledge of navigation. The knowledge of influence is to take the knowledge of stars as a cause, claiming that what happens on earth is caused by the star. Like those who say in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, "We rained by the star such and such." This is the forbidden one, and it is not permissible to rely on it, because there is no connection between what happens on earth and what happens in the sky. The sky is independent, so what happens as an effect in the sky does not affect the earth. The stars have no role in events. Some people, and I seek refuge in Allah, say, "This man was born in such and such a star, he will be happy." "This child was born in such and such a star, he will be wretched." Whoever says this, and they call it the horoscope, horoscope meaning it means this child's horoscope. This is the forbidden one, and whoever believes the astrologer in this is like one who believes the disbeliever. And success is from Allah.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Chapter on the Prohibition of Visiting Fortune-Tellers and Astrologers
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said:
Some people asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about soothsayers. He (ﷺ) said, "They are of no account." Upon this they said to him, "O Messenger of Allah! But they sometimes make true predictions." Thereupon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "That is a word pertaining to truth which a jinn snatches (from the angels) and whispers into the ears of his friend (the soothsayers) who will then mix more than a hundred lies with it."
سأل رسول الله صلى عليه وسلم أناس عن الكهان فقال ليسوا بشيء فقالوا يا رسول الله إنهم يحدثونا أحيانا بشيء فيكون حقا فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم تلك الكلمة من الحق يخطفها الجني فيقرها في أذن وليه فيخلطون معها مئة كذبةAnd in a narration by al-Bukhari from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), she heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say:
The angels descend in the clouds and mention matters which has been decreed in heaven; Satan steals a hearing (listens to it stealthily) and communicates it to the soothsayers who tell along with it a hundred lies.
إن الملائكة تنزل في العنان وهو السحاب فتذكر الأمر قضي في السماء فيسترق الشيطان السمع فيسمعه فيلقيه إلى الكهان فيكذبون معها مئة كذبة من عند أنفسهمThe Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book Riyad al-Salihin: "Chapter on the Prohibition of Visiting Fortune-Tellers, Astrologers, and the Like"
Fortune-tellers is the plural of fortune-teller, and a fortune-teller is one who informs -be quiet, you children, be quiet- a fortune-teller is one who informs about hidden matters in the future, saying for example, such and such will happen on such and such a day, or he says to a person, you will be happy on such and such a day, or an accident will befall you on such and such a day, or the like of that. These are the fortune-tellers.
As for astrologers, they are those who make the knowledge of stars their profession, meaning they take it as a trade. But the knowledge of stars is divided into two categories: permissible and forbidden.
We are speaking about fortune-tellers. Fortune-tellers are people from the children of Adam who have close friends from the jinn. Allah the Exalted has given the jinn great power over things, speed and strength. They ascend to the sky, and each one of them has a specific seat from which they steal the hearing, meaning what they hear from the angels. Then Allah Blessed and Exalted decrees the matter in the sky, and they snatch something from it, and they descend with it to their close friends from among the humans, the children of Adam, who are the fortune-tellers. Then this fortune-teller adds to what he heard from the sky, as the Prophet (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) said, and he is the truthful one, a hundred lies. Meaning they add to what they heard, and it happens that this word heard from the sky comes to pass as the jinn heard it. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) mentioned
Anas told that the Prophet was asked about wine which was turned into vinegar* and forbade it. Muslim transmitted it. * This is said to have been done by putting onions or salt in it, or by placing it in the sun.
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم سئل عن الكهان فقال ليسوا بشيءwe used to sit therein
كنا نقعد منهاseats for listening
مقاعد للسمعbut whoever listens now will find a burning flame lying in wait for him.
فمن يستمع الآن يجد له شهابا رصداThe Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about the soothsayers, and he said, "They are nothing."
فسئل النبي عليه الصلاة والسلام عن الكهان قال ليسوا بشيءThey said, "O Messenger of Allah, they say a word and it turns out to be true."
قالوا يا رسول الله إنهم يقولون القول فيكون حقاWe must lie to these fortune-tellers and not believe them. Whoever visits them, asks them, and believes them has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), meaning he disbelieved in the Qur'an. The aspect of his disbelief is that Allah the Exalted said:
Say, "None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allah
قل لا يعلم من في السماوات والأرض الغيب إلا اللهSay, "None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allah
قل لا يعلم من في السماوات والأرض الغيب إلا اللهAs for astrologers, they are those who engage in the knowledge of stars. The knowledge of stars is of two types:
One type is permissible, and it is called the knowledge of navigation, meaning the knowledge of the movement of stars. It is used to determine the seasons and the length and shortness of the day. There is no harm in this, no blame, and no problem with it, because people use it to guide themselves to their interests.
And among that is the knowledge of the directions of stars. For example, the North Pole is known as the direction of the north, and the star Canis Major is known as being near the pole on the northern side. It is used to determine the qiblah and the directions. Allah the Exalted said:
(15) And He has cast into the earth firmly set mountains, lest it shift with you, and [made] rivers and roads, that you may be guided, (16) And landmarks.
وألقى في الأرض رواسي أن تميد بكم وأنهارا وسبلا لعلكم تهتدون وعلاماتAnd by the stars they are [also] guided.
وبالنجم هم يهتدونAs for the second type: it is the knowledge of influence, opposite to the knowledge of navigation. The knowledge of influence is to take the knowledge of stars as a cause, claiming that what happens on earth is caused by the star. Like those who say in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, "We rained by the star such and such." This is the forbidden one, and it is not permissible to rely on it, because there is no connection between what happens on earth and what happens in the sky. The sky is independent, so what happens as an effect in the sky does not affect the earth. The stars have no role in events. Some people, and I seek refuge in Allah, say, "This man was born in such and such a star, he will be happy." "This child was born in such and such a star, he will be wretched." Whoever says this, and they call it the horoscope, horoscope meaning it means this child's horoscope. This is the forbidden one, and whoever believes the astrologer in this is like one who believes the disbeliever. And success is from Allah.