ASTROLOGY

Arabic 'Ilmu 'n-nujum. Qatidah says, referring to the Qur'an, 'that God has created stars for three uses: (1) as an ornament to the heavens (Surah lxvii 5); (2) to stone the Devil with (Surah lxvii. 5); and (3) to direct travellers through the forests and on the sea (Surah. xv. 16). Muhammad condemns those who study the stars for any other purposes (Mishkat, xxi, c iii pt. iii.), and consequently the science of Astrology is not considered lawful in Islam.