The Incoherence of Astrology: Between Astronomical Facts and Sharia Constraints

Astrology and the reliance on horoscopes and celestial maps are forms of superstition that have donned the mantle of science in our modern era. In reality, they are nothing more than a mixture of delusions and divination that contradict both sound reason and authentic revelation.

Scientific Flaws in Celestial Maps

Official scientific agencies, including NASA, have confirmed that the astrological maps circulated today are scientifically inaccurate. The currently adopted map dates back to the ancient Babylonian era, and the positions of the stars in the sun's path have changed from what they were thousands of years ago due to the phenomenon of Axial Precession—a slow shift caused by the instability of the Earth's rotation on its axis, rendering the ancient map entirely detached from the astronomical reality observed today.

Remarkably, the equal division of the zodiac (12 signs at 30 degrees each) is a Babylonian conventional division that does not reflect reality; astronomically, Scorpio lasts for only seven days, while Virgo extends for forty-five days. Furthermore, astrologers ignored the existence of entire constellations, such as Ophiuchus, to maintain the twelve-month system.

The Sharia Perspective: Divination in its New Guise

Attempting to foresee the unseen (Ghayb) or analyze personalities based on the movement of stars is a form of divination and sorcery. Sharia texts have come with a severe warning against this path:

«Whoever visits a fortune-teller or a soothsayer and believes in what he says has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad.»

Narrated by Ahmad and authenticated by Al-Albani. In Sahih Muslim, it is stated that whoever asks a fortune-teller, his prayer will not be accepted for forty nights. Thus, astrology is modern divination that relies on sorcery, as the Prophet ﷺ said: «Whoever acquires knowledge of the stars has acquired a branch of sorcery.»

The Incoherence of Astrological Logic

From a rational standpoint, dividing the entirety of humanity into only twelve patterns is a primitive idea that does not withstand the reality of immense human diversity. It was said of old in critique of this logic:

Say to the astrologer regarding the Flood: Were... all born under the star of drowning?»

These practices are but a means used by Iblis to divert people from relying upon Allah and to delude them into thinking that others besides Allah know the Unseen. It is among the tribulations that cause a man to be a believer in the evening and a disbeliever by morning; so beware, beware of slipping behind these superstitions.