al-Qawl fi Ilm al-Nujum lil-Khatib
- Author died
- 463 AH
- Editions
- Dar Atlas lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzi'
al-Qawl fi Ilm al-Nujum (The Discourse on the Science of the Stars) is a specialized treatise on astronomy and astrology by the Baghdadi traditionist and historian al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (392–463 AH / 1002–1071 CE) . The book defines the legal boundaries of celestial observation in Islamic scholarship, differentiating between permissible practical astronomy and prohibited judicial astrology .
Purpose and Classification
Al-Khatib composed the work in response to an inquiry regarding whether studying the stars is praiseworthy (mahmud) or blameworthy (madhmum) . In his introduction, he classifies the science of the stars into two fundamental categories:
- The Permissible Branch (al-mubah): Learning which is regarded as a virtue. This comprises astronomical and observational knowledge, including the names, appearances, rising points, settings, and motions of celestial bodies; navigational orientation on land and sea; identifying agricultural cycles, seasonal shifts, and rainfall patterns as practiced by the Arabs; and determining the direction of the Qibla and the appointed times for daily prayers .
- The Prohibited Branch (al-mahzur): The pursuit of astrological judgments (ahkam al-nujum), horoscopes, and prognostication. Looking into this branch is legally censured because it attempts to uncover the unseen (al-ghayb), which belongs exclusively to God, and falsely attributes terrestrial efficacy or fate to the influence of planetary movements .
Content and Method
The treatise develops its arguments using traditional hadith documentation alongside rational critique and literary illustrations:
Scriptural and Traditional Foundations
Al-Khatib adduces verses from the Quran, including references to God setting the stars as guides in the darkness of land and sea , alongside prophetic traditions and reports from early authorities such as Umar ibn al-Khattab, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Abd Allah ibn Abbas, Mujahid ibn Jabr, and Qatadah ibn Di'amah . He cites Qatadah's statement that God created the stars for three distinct purposes: as ornaments for the sky, as missiles against demons, and as navigational signs, cautioning that anyone who interprets them beyond these three has erred and overburdened themselves .
To corroborate permissible observational astronomy, the author documents the twenty-eight lunar mansions (manazil al-qamar), the twelve signs of the zodiac, seasonal weather maxims, and the rhymed prose (asja') of early Arab pastoralists concerning star risings (anwa') and weather indicators .
Refutation of Astrological Judgments
In refuting judicial astrology, al-Khatib explains prophetic warnings such as the hadith: من اقتبس علمًا من النجوم، فقد اقتبس شعبة من السحر ("Whoever acquires a branch of the science of the stars has acquired a branch of sorcery") . He notes that astrology shares with sorcery its reliance on illusion, falsification, and deception, since stars possess no independent power over good or evil . He addresses why astrologers occasionally appear to make accurate predictions, arguing that occasional hits occur purely by chance (ittifaq) in binary situations (such as predicting the gender of a child or the outcome of an illness) and that people tend to remember the single correct guess while overlooking countless errors .
He also presents structural and internal contradictions within astrological systems:
- The arbitrary allocation of zodiacal domiciles and dignities to planets without rational proof (qiyas) .
- Contradictions among historical authorities regarding planetary terms (hudud), such as the discrepancies between the system of Ptolemy and those of Babylonian and Egyptian traditions .
- Conflicting astronomical handbooks and calculation tables (zijat), citing differences among Ptolemy's tables, the Sindhind, and the Mumtahan tables, which yield divergent planetary coordinates and consequently mutually exclusive astrological verdicts .
Historical Anecdotes and Literary Evidence
The work incorporates historical narratives, such as the expedition of the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim against Amorium, undertaken in defiance of astrologers who predicted failure, as memorialized by the poet Abu Tammam . Al-Khatib also quotes critical reflections and poetry by scholars and poets, including al-Khalil ibn Ahmad, Abd Allah ibn al-Mu'tazz, Abu Bakr al-Asamm, and the jurist Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi (al-Fayruzabadi) .
Transmission and Publication
The work is referenced in historical and bibliographical compendia under variations of its title, such as al-Qawl fi Ilm al-Nujum al-Mahmud minhu wal-Madhmum in Ibn Sulayman al-Rudani's Silat al-khalaf , and as a treatise (risalah) on the praise and censure of starry consultation in manuscript catalogs . A manuscript is preserved in the Aşir Efendi collection in Istanbul . It has been critically edited by Yusuf ibn Muhammad al-Sa'id and published by Dar Atlas in Riyadh (1420 AH / 1999 CE) .
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