Are horoscopes haram in Islam?

Superstition, fortune-telling, horoscopes, zodiac signs, and astrology are all fallacious and deceiving practices that Islam came to expose as being untrue and to justify as polytheistic. This is because they entail relying on something other than Allah, thinking that something else can bring about good or bad things, and accepting the advice of soothsayers and fortune tellers who pretend to know the unknown in order to defraud people of their money and alter their beliefs. Thus horoscopes are haram in Islam.

Proof that the zodiac signs are haram in Islam

The following hadith, which Abu Dawud related in his Sunan with a sahih isnad from Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), provides proof why zodiac signs are haram in Islam:

“The Prophet (ﷺ) said: If anyone acquires any knowledge of astrology, he acquires a branch of magic of which he gets more as long as he continues to do so.”

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stated: “He is not one of us who practices augury or has it done for him, who tells fortunes or has his fortune told, or who practices witchcraft or has that done for him,” narrated Al-Bazzar, who cited a reliable chain of transmission from Imran ibn Husayn. Since Allah is the only One with knowledge of the unseen, anyone who asserts that they know something about the unseen is either a fortune teller or is acting in some manner like one. Allah says (meaning interpretation);

“Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “None in the heavens and the earth has knowledge of the unseen except Allah. Nor do they know when they will be resurrected.” [Al-Naml 27:65]

Ways to prevent fortune-telling?

We advise everyone involved in these issues to turn from their sins and seek forgiveness from Allah, rely solely on Him, and place their faith in Him in all of their concerns while using the sensible methods that are allowed or recommended by Shari’ah. To show obedience to Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), as well as to safeguard his adherence to Islam and his “aqidah” (religious belief), they should abandon these jahiliyyah issues, stay away from them, and refrain from questioning those who practice them or believe what they say.

Reflection

AAllah SWT has decided to keep the knowledge of future and the unseen for himself. Nobody has any knowledge whatsoever of the holy secret that is the next instant and what it might bring. There have always been certain persons in human societies who claim to be able to predict the future because people have always been fascinated by the unseen and have a strong desire to know what the future holds. Some have called upon the stars for assistance, arguing that a person’s life is influenced by the positions of various stars at the time of his birth. Others have attempted to predict a person’s destiny by “reading” his palm. Additionally, some people “read” tea or coffee mugs.

Islam considers all of these practices to be deceptive. What Allah SWT has decided to keep hidden, no one can ever find out. As a result, anyone who claims to be able to predict the future is lying and unable to support their claim. “Astrologers are liars, even when they tell the truth,” said the Prophet, peace be upon him, in a definitive and conclusive verdict on the matter. This implies that an astrologer would be lying even if he predicted a future event and it materialized as he had predicted. This is because he was completely unaware of what was about to occur. The fact that what he has claimed has come to pass is really a coincidence. His assertion that he had known about it beforehand was undoubtedly untrue.

Therefore, a Muslim believes that everything our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, has taught us is true. They also believe in Allah SWT and the teachings of the Prophet (PBUH). Therefore, he cannot have such a belief in conjunction with his belief in astrology, palmistry, or any other form of future prediction. This kind of belief is inconsistent with Islam. As a result, a Muslim should refrain from reading their horoscope, which is regrettably printed in the majority of newspapers and periodicals.

The fact that even the editors of those publications don’t trust their horoscopes speaks volumes. Because they are well aware of the deception they employ, the people who write the horoscope do not trust a word they write.