Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
1- If a Muslim believes that some people can foretell future events and know the secrets of the Unseen, he has indeed denied what was revealed to the Messenger of Allah.
2- If anyone reads horoscopes thinking that the stars will accurately chart his or her life, his Prayers will not be accepted by Allah.
Answering your question, Sheikh Sayyed M. Ad-Darsh, Former Chairman of the UK Shri`ah Council, states:
Let us make this absolutely clear that there is no room in Islam for anyone predicting the future. True, if anyone reads horoscopes thinking that the stars will accurately chart his or her life, his Prayers will not be accepted by Allah.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The prayer of one who goes to a soothsayer, asks him something and believes in what he says, will not be accepted for forty days.” (Muslim)
This applies equally to those consulting soothsayers and clairvoyants who cannot exercise any influence on their future.
He is also reported to have said, “Whoever goes to a soothsayer and believes in what he says, has denied what was revealed to Muhammad.” (Ahmad)
Of course, one could argue that there is nothing wrong in a harmless glance at the horoscopes once in a while as long as you as one does not believe in them. But if you have a few glances at the horoscopes, you might find yourself unable to plan your day without looking at them.
Almighty Allah knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.