1. Not 'Daily Horoscopes,' But the Branded Science 'Ilm an-Nujūm' Tested in the Baghdad Observatory
In the year 829 CE, when Europe was still in the 'Dark Ages,' a world-class observatory was built in Baghdad—not on a pagan hill, but under the protection of the Bayt al-Hikmah, the Abbasid royal intellectual center. Here, astronomers like Al-Farghani and Al-Battani not only measured the height of stars to determine the direction of the qibla, but also collected decade by decade data on the movement of the Moon, the accuracy of Saturn's orbit, and the brightness changes of Jupiter. Surprisingly: all this data was used
in parallel in two disciplines—
Ilm al-Falak (theoretical astronomy) and
Ilm an-Nujūm (practical astrology). Al-Biruni wrote in
Kitab al-Tafhim:
‘Whoever thinks that nujūm is mere guesswork has not even read a single page from the book of Al-Sufi or Thabit ibn Qurra.’ Astrology was not empty prophecy—it was a mathematical system based on ephemerides, planetary aspects, and manually calculated ascendant tables using silver astrolabes and copper-etched celestial globes.
2. Five Sky Sciences Synthesized into One Islamic System: Babylonian, Greek, Persian, Indian & Bedouin Arab
The science of nujūm in the Islamic world was not a copy, but an unmatched synthesis in the history of science. From Babylon came the concept of the 12 zodiac signs and the 'mudhāharah' (planetary aspects) system. From Greece—especially Ptolemy in
Tetrabiblos—came the principle of 'the influence of stars on the elements of earth, water, air, and fire.' From the Sassanid Persians, the 'firdaria' (planetary life periods) system was adopted, later refined by Abu Ma’shar al-Balkhi into a model for predicting lifespan and life crises. From India, the
nakshatra (27 lunar mansions) technique and its relationship with weather were absorbed, then translated into Arabic as
manazil al-qamar. And from the Bedouin Arab tradition itself, empirical knowledge about the relationship between the rising of Sirius (
al-Shi‘ra) and the Nile flood season, or the rising of the Pleiades (
al-Thurayya) and the start of the dry season in Hijaz was included. The result? A more complex astrological system than any previous version—and the first to introduce the concept of 'planet transit' as an indicator of micro events (childbirth) and macro events (dynastic rise).
3. Fatwas of Great Scholars: Astrology Can Be Studied—As Long As It Is Not Believed as Qadar
Many people mistakenly believe that all Islamic scholars prohibited astrology. In fact, Ibn Khaldun in
Muqaddimah (1377 CE) wrote clearly:
‘The science of nujūm is a mathematically correct science—but taking decisions from it without religious evidence is forbidden.’ Similarly, Imam al-Ghazali in
Ihya Ulum al-Din distinguished between
‘al-nujūm al-hisabiyyah’ (calculated astrology, which is permissible) and
‘al-nujūm al-khurafiyyah’ (superstitious astrology, which is forbidden). Even Ibn Taymiyyah—often associated with a strict stance against 'superstitions'—emphasized in
Majmu‘ al-Fatawa:
‘Knowing the position of stars for navigation, prayer time, or agriculture is obligatory; using it to determine fate is shirk—but the science itself is not invalid.’ This is not a compromise, but a clear epistemological line: the mathematics of the heavens is
symbolic, human destiny is
hidden. Both cannot be confused—but both can be studied.
4. The Most Reprinted Astrology Book in the Islamic World: 'Kitab al-Mudkhal al-Kabir' by Abu Ma’shar — 1,200 Pages, 37 Editions from the 13th Century
Written in the 840s CE in Baghdad,
Kitab al-Mudkhal al-Kabir (Introduction to Astrology) is not a short book—it is a systematic encyclopedia of 1,200 pages, containing 37 chapters on topics such as 'the influence of the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on kingdoms,' 'signs of death in birth charts,' and 'using the ascendant to determine the location of lost items.' This book became the main reference in Islamic universities from Cordoba to Samarkand. Interestingly, when translated into Latin in the 12th century by Adelard of Bath, it became one of the main sources of European astrology—and was used by Thomas Aquinas in
Summa Theologica to discuss the relationship between natural causes and divine will. Interestingly, Abu Ma’shar himself wrote in the introduction of his book:
‘I did not write this to make predictions, but so that people know: what can be calculated, do not consider it fate; and what cannot be calculated, do not deny it as grace.’
5. Islamic Astrology Solved Medical Mysteries: 'Al-Risalah al-Dhahabiyyah' and the Relationship Between Planets and Body Organs
One of the most neglected yet most scientific branches of
Ilm an-Nujūm is medical astrology (
al-tibb al-nujūmi). The book
Al-Risalah al-Dhahabiyyah (The Golden Letter), attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan, systematically maps the relationship between planets and organs: Sun → heart and blood; Moon → brain and body fluids; Mercury → nervous and digestive systems; Venus → kidneys and reproduction. Doctors at the Al-Adudi Hospital in Baghdad used planetary transit tables to determine the best time for surgery—for example: avoiding liver surgery when Mars is in the 6th house (house of illness), or delaying bitter medicine when the Moon is in Cancer (which 'softens' the intestines). Archaeological discoveries in Nishapur show medical records from 1050 CE stating:
‘Fever patients were given medicine on the third day after the Jupiter-Mercury conjunction—because at that time, the body's natural heat was most suitable for the pharmacological properties of the herbs.’ This is not mysticism—it is an early attempt at chronopharmacology.
6. End of Times: Why Islamic Astrology Declined—Not Because of Prohibition, But Because of the Rise of New Science
Islamic astrology was not suddenly banned. It gradually disappeared after the 14th century—not because of fatwas, but due to the collapse of central observatory systems, loss of access to Greek manuscripts due to political divisions, and the emergence of a new paradigm: Ibn al-Shatir in Damascus (1304–1375) wrote a lunar orbit model
without epicycles, refuting Ptolemy—and thus weakening the mathematical foundation of classical astrology. When Copernicus acknowledged in
De Revolutionibus that he was 'inspired by Arab astronomical calculations,' he indirectly buried the premise of astrology: if Earth is not the center of the universe, then 'the influence of stars on human souls' loses its cosmological basis. However, its traces remain—in the names of Arabic stars we use today (
Aldebaran,
Rigel,
Altair), in the sky coordinate system that still uses 'right ascension,' and in the practice of calculating prayer times based on the height of the Sun—the legacy of
Ilm an-Nujūm that never stopped functioning, only changed its name.
Rujukan: Astrology in the medieval Islamic world — Wikipedia
Why Did 9th-Century Islamic Scholars Predict the Birth of a Baby with a Star — and Was It Correct?. Amidst strict prohibitions against polytheism, hundreds of Muslim scholars from the 8th to 13th centuries wrote 500-page astrology books—not as superstition, but as controlled science tested in the Baghdad observatory. They did not only calculate prayer times, but also mapped the influence of Mars on fevers, or the Moon on blood flow. How could this science develop under the umbrella of jurisprudence and monotheism—without any fatwa explicitly forbidding it?. 1. Not 'Daily Horoscopes,' But the Branded Science 'Ilm an-Nujūm' Tested in the Baghdad Observatory
In the year 829 CE, when Europe was still in the 'Dark Ages,' a world-class observatory was built in Baghdad—not on a pagan hill, but under the protection of the Bayt al-Hikmah, the Abbasid royal intellectual center. Here, astronomers like Al-Farghani and Al-Battani not only measured the height of stars to determine the direction of the qibla, but also collected decade by decade data on the movement of the Moon, the accuracy of Saturn's orbit, and the brightness changes of Jupiter. Surprisingly: all this data was used in parallel in two disciplines— Ilm al-Falak theoretical astronomy and Ilm an-Nujūm practical astrology . Al-Biruni wrote in Kitab al-Tafhim : ‘Whoever thinks that nujūm is mere guesswork has not even read a single page from the book of Al-Sufi or Thabit ibn Qurra.’ Astrology was not empty prophecy—it was a mathematical system based on ephemerides, planetary aspects, and manually calculated ascendant tables using silver astrolabes and copper-etched celestial globes.
2. Five Sky Sciences Synthesized into One Islamic System: Babylonian, Greek, Persian, Indian & Bedouin Arab
The science of nujūm in the Islamic world was not a copy, but an unmatched synthesis in the history of science. From Babylon came the concept of the 12 zodiac signs and the 'mudhāharah' planetary aspects system. From Greece—especially Ptolemy in Tetrabiblos —came the principle of 'the influence of stars on the elements of earth, water, air, and fire.' From the Sassanid Persians, the 'firdaria' planetary life periods system was adopted, later refined by Abu Ma’shar al-Balkhi into a model for predicting lifespan and life crises. From India, the nakshatra 27 lunar mansions technique and its relationship with weather were absorbed, then translated into Arabic as manazil al-qamar . And from the Bedouin Arab tradition itself, empirical knowledge about the relationship between the rising of Sirius al-Shi‘ra and the Nile flood season, or the rising of the Pleiades al-Thurayya and the start of the dry season in Hijaz was included. The result? A more complex astrological system than any previous version—and the first to introduce the concept of 'planet transit' as an indicator of micro events childbirth and macro events dynastic rise .
3. Fatwas of Great Scholars: Astrology Can Be Studied—As Long As It Is Not Believed as Qadar
Many people mistakenly believe that all Islamic scholars prohibited astrology. In fact, Ibn Khaldun in Muqaddimah 1377 CE wrote clearly: ‘The science of nujūm is a mathematically correct science—but taking decisions from it without religious evidence is forbidden.’ Similarly, Imam al-Ghazali in Ihya Ulum al-Din distinguished between ‘al-nujūm al-hisabiyyah’ calculated astrology, which is permissible and ‘al-nujūm al-khurafiyyah’ superstitious astrology, which is forbidden . Even Ibn Taymiyyah—often associated with a strict stance against 'superstitions'—emphasized in Majmu‘ al-Fatawa : ‘Knowing the position of stars for navigation, prayer time, or agriculture is obligatory; using it to determine fate is shirk—but the science itself is not invalid.’ This is not a compromise, but a clear epistemological line: the mathematics of the heavens is symbolic , human destiny is hidden . Both cannot be confused—but both can be studied.
4. The Most Reprinted Astrology Book in the Islamic World: 'Kitab al-Mudkhal al-Kabir' by Abu Ma’shar — 1,200 Pages, 37 Editions from the 13th Century
Written in the 840s CE in Baghdad, Kitab al-Mudkhal al-Kabir Introduction to Astrology is not a short book—it is a systematic encyclopedia of 1,200 pages, containing 37 chapters on topics such as 'the influence of the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn on kingdoms,' 'signs of death in birth charts,' and 'using the ascendant to determine the location of lost items.' This book became the main reference in Islamic universities from Cordoba to Samarkand. Interestingly, when translated into Latin in the 12th century by Adelard of Bath, it became one of the main sources of European astrology—and was used by Thomas Aquinas in Summa Theologica to discuss the relationship between natural causes and divine will. Interestingly, Abu Ma’shar himself wrote in the introduction of his book: ‘I did not write this to make predictions, but so that people know: what can be calculated, do not consider it fate; and what cannot be calculated, do not deny it as grace.’
5. Islamic Astrology Solved Medical Mysteries: 'Al-Risalah al-Dhahabiyyah' and the Relationship Between Planets and Body Organs
One of the most neglected yet most scientific branches of Ilm an-Nujūm is medical astrology al-tibb al-nujūmi . The book Al-Risalah al-Dhahabiyyah The Golden Letter , attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan, systematically maps the relationship between planets and organs: Sun → heart and blood; Moon → brain and body fluids; Mercury → nervous and digestive systems; Venus → kidneys and reproduction. Doctors at the Al-Adudi Hospital in Baghdad used planetary transit tables to determine the best time for surgery—for example: avoiding liver surgery when Mars is in the 6th house house of illness , or delaying bitter medicine when the Moon is in Cancer which 'softens' the intestines . Archaeological discoveries in Nishapur show medical records from 1050 CE stating: ‘Fever patients were given medicine on the third day after the Jupiter-Mercury conjunction—because at that time, the body's natural heat was most suitable for the pharmacological properties of the herbs.’ This is not mysticism—it is an early attempt at chronopharmacology.
6. End of Times: Why Islamic Astrology Declined—Not Because of Prohibition, But Because of the Rise of New Science
Islamic astrology was not suddenly banned. It gradually disappeared after the 14th century—not because of fatwas, but due to the collapse of central observatory systems, loss of access to Greek manuscripts due to political divisions, and the emergence of a new paradigm: Ibn al-Shatir in Damascus 1304–1375 wrote a lunar orbit model without epicycles , refuting Ptolemy—and thus weakening the mathematical foundation of classical astrology. When Copernicus acknowledged in De Revolutionibus that he was 'inspired by Arab astronomical calculations,' he indirectly buried the premise of astrology: if Earth is not the center of the universe, then 'the influence of stars on human souls' loses its cosmological basis. However, its traces remain—in the names of Arabic stars we use today Aldebaran , Rigel , Altair , in the sky coordinate system that still uses 'right ascension,' and in the practice of calculating prayer times based on the height of the Sun—the legacy of Ilm an-Nujūm that never stopped functioning, only changed its name.
Rujukan: Astrology in the medieval Islamic world — Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrology in the medieval Islamic world
