is grounded in the law of Allah and the law of His Messenger ﷺ—by consulting the people of knowledge and by returning to the authentic sources of Islam.

What I advise you to do is to abandon this supplication, stay away from it altogether, forbid it, and warn others against it.

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Geomancy and astrology

Question: How sound are the two hadiths ascribed to the Messenger ﷺ in which he said, “Astrologers have lied, even when they speak the truth,” and another hadith that states, “There was a prophet among the prophets who used to draw lines; whoever’s line matches his, that is acceptable”? What is the ruling of the Sacred Law concerning geomancy (darb al-raml) and astrology? Are there any hadiths from the Prophet ﷺ that prohibit these practices?

Answer: Concerning astrology: if by it one intends to infer future events from the stars and to believe that the stars exert influence over created beings—such as causing rainfall, bringing about diseases, or anything else—then this is major associationism (shirk akbar). It is a belief of the pre-Islamic pagans, and astrology of this sort is absolutely forbidden. As for the hadith you mentioned, “Astrologers have lied, even when they speak the truth,” I know of no authentic chain for it; I have not come across it. Its meaning, however, is sound, for astrologers merely conjecture and lie about Allah, since the stars have no role in directing the universe. Rather, the One who directs it is Allah alone—He who created the stars, and created