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Chapter I: Acquisition of Knowledge

with accounts. The Quran says: The sun and the moon have got courses reckoned-55: 4 It says again: As for the moon/ 1 decreed stations for it till it changes like an old and crooked palm branch-36:39. The second kind deals with Astrology, the gist of which is that the future events are indicated by the present causes. Astrology is therefor an attempt to know the course of the laws and ordinances of God in connection with His creations. ■ The Sharia has declared it as blameworthy. The Prophet said:
Whenever Taqdir is mentioned, remain silent and whenever my companions are mentioned, remain silent. The Prophet said: I fear three things for my followers after me, the oppression of the leaders, faith in Astrology and disbelief in Taqdir (predecree).
Hazrat Omar said: Learn Astrology, to conduct you in land and sea and not more. There are three causes for this prohibition.
Firstly, it is harmful for majority of the people, because thoughts occur in their minds that it is the stars which influence the course pi events and so the stars are Jo be worshipped. The wise man knows that the sun, the moon and the stars are subjects to the commands of God. The second reason is that Astrology is purely guess work. It has been termed blameworthy because it command is that of only ignorance. Once the Prophet was passing by a man surrounded by the people. He asked: Who is this man? They said: He is a great learned man. The Prophet asked: Of what learning? They said: Of poetry and Arab geneology. The Prophet said: Such a learning which does not do any benefit and such ignorance which does not do any harm. The Prophet said: Learning is of decisive verses or lasting usages (of Prophet) and just ordinances (based on the Quran and Sunnah).
It appears from this that discussion about Astrology and the like sciences are useless undertakings.

(3) The third reason that this science is blameworthy is that it becomes of no use to one who acquires it, for example, learning of trivial sciences before the important ones learning of subtleties before fundamentals, Ignorance, however, in some cases is beneficial as is seen from the following story.

A certain person once complained to a physician that his wife was sterile and that she bore no children. The physician left the pulse of the woman and told her that she would die after 40 days.
The woman got extremely frightened and gave away all her wealth and lived these forty days without food and drink. After

Vol-I KNOWLEDGE 45

Source: Imam Al-Ghazali, Ihya Ulum al-Din (Revival of the Islamic Sciences)
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