and other scholars, and this usage has been reported from the Arabs. Other scholars regard the astrologer as belonging to the same category as the soothsayer, but as being even worse; he therefore comes under the same ruling because the underlying meaning applies to him.

It is narrated in the Sahīh that he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“The price of a dog is foul, a prostitute’s earnings are foul, and a soothsayer’s fee is foul.”

His fee is what ordinary people call his “sweetener.” This also covers payments involving astrologers, those who practise divination with arrows or lots—such as a piece of wood inscribed with a, b, j, d—those who divine using pebbles, and others like them. Whatever is given to these people is unlawful.

More than one scholar has reported consensus on its prohibition, including al-Baghawī, al-Qādī ‘Iyād and others.

The two Sahīhs relate from Zayd ibn Khālid, who said:

“The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—addressed us at al-Hudaybiya after rain had fallen during the night. He asked, ‘Do you know what your Lord said last night?’ We replied, ‘Allah and His Messenger know best.’ He said, ‘This morning, some of My servants believe in Me and others disbelieve in Me. Whoever says, “We were given rain by Allah’s grace and mercy,” believes in Me and disbelieves in the stars.’”

In Sahīh Muslim, Abū Hurayra reports that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“Whenever Allah sends down a blessing from heaven, some people respond to it with disbelief: Allah sends down rain, and they say, ‘It was through such-and-such a star.’”

Sahīh Muslim also reports that he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:

“Four practices in my community belong to the ways of pre-Islamic ignorance: boasting of ancestral standing, disparaging people’s lineage, wailing over the dead, and seeking rain through the stars.”

It also relates from Ibn ‘Abbās, from the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—concerning the verse, “And do you repay your provision with denial?” that he said:

“This refers to seeking rain through the stars”—or words to that effect.