al-Radd ala man dhahaba ila tashih ilm al-ghayb min jihat al-khatt
- Author died
- 520 AH
- Editions
- Dār Ibn Ḥazm
al-Radd ala man dhahaba ila tashih ilm al-ghayb min jihat al-khatt (Refutation of Whosoever Validates Knowledge of the Unseen through Geomancy) is a theological and legal epistle by the Maliki jurist Ibn Rushd al-Jadd (d. 520 AH / 1126 CE), refuting the claim that the unseen can be divined through sand lines or geomancy .
Background and Purpose
The work was composed in response to a formal query regarding the practice of drawing lines in the earth or sand (al-khaṭṭ fī al-turāb) and casting lots (ḍarb al-qurʿah) to discover hidden matters . The questioner asked about the legal status of accepting payment for geomancy, the permissibility of performing it without compensation, and the validity of arguments advanced by its practitioners, including reports attributing the practice to earlier prophets such as Idris or Abraham, as well as the hadith reported by Ibn Abbas and Mu'awiya ibn al-Hakam .
Core Arguments and Theological Analysis
Ibn Rushd establishes that claiming partnership with God in the knowledge of the unseen (ʿilm al-ghayb)—whether through divination, astrology, or lines drawn in dust—constitutes disbelief (kufr), citing scriptural declarations that God alone holds exclusive knowledge of the unseen and reveals it only to His chosen messengers (Q 72:26–27, Q 31:34, and Q 27:65) . He argues that diviners rely purely on estimation and conjecture (ḥazr wa-takhmīn), which are fraught with errors and falsehood, unlike prophets who receive true divine revelation regarding specific particulars .
Addressing the hadith mentioning that a prophet used to draw lines ( كان نبي من الأنبياء يخط فمن وافق خطه علم ), Ibn Rushd notes that even if the tradition were conceded as authentic, it cannot be taken literally in a way that contradicts the Quran and Sunni consensus . He interprets the Prophet's ﷺ statement not as an affirmation of geomancy for ordinary humans, but as a rhetorical denial and prohibition (inkār), indicating that matching that prophet's divine sign is impossible . He explains that if matching the line literally yielded knowledge, a practitioner would share in prophetic revelation and commands, which is impossible . Instead, those lines were an exclusive miracle granted specifically to that prophet, akin to the boiling oven serving as a sign for Noah or the loss of the fish for Moses .
Exegetical Rebuttals and Legal Verdict
Ibn Rushd rejects claims that certain Quranic verses justify geomancy:
- The phrase أَوْ أَثَارَةٍ مِنْ عِلْمٍ (Q 46:4), which practitioners interpreted as sand-lines, was addressed to pagans based on their own corrupt assumptions to challenge them, whereas its established linguistic meaning among exegetes is a remaining trace of transmitted knowledge (baqiyyat ʿilm) .
- The verses فَنَظَرَ نَظْرَةً فِي النُّجُومِ (Q 37:89) and وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ (Q 2:255) do not refer to geomancy according to recognized scholars of Quranic exegesis .
Ibn Rushd concludes that engaging in geomantic casting is unlawful, deeming it one of the snares of Satan, and rules that taking any fee or remuneration for it is strictly forbidden .
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