Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh, Shaykhs. My father's brother does palm reading, believes in stars (that one has such-and-such qualities because they are born in such a period of such a month), does not pray, and does not pay zakah. Can I consider him a Muslim? Will I be sinful if I call him a Muslim? He has not been praying nor paying zakah for years; as for fasting, I do not know. Please advice, Shaykhs. Also, I am concerned, as one time, when I went on vacation with my family, he read my hand and said somethings, though I cant recall them, but I remember him having looked at my hand. I cannot recall whether that was before or after me reaching the age of accountability. Am I a Muslim? Did I sin? I have been brought up in a household where there was no religious seriousness, and there are religious innovations. I have done many acts of religious innovations without knowing. Praise be to Allah, I am serious in the religion now and am a student of the religion. What is the ruling about such a person who reaches the age of accountability but sins due to a lack of a righteous family and school/college mates, are they sinful because they had reached the age of accountability? May Allah reward you, Shaykhs.

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

Whoever believes that the stars affect by themselves or claims that he knows the Unseen is considered as a non-Muslim.

Al-Bukhaari entitled a Chapter in his Saheeh: Chapter about the stars: "Qataadah said about the verse (which means): {And We have certainly beautified the nearest heaven with lamps...} that Allah created these stars for three purposes: as beautification for the sky, as missiles to be thrown at devils, and as signs by which people are guided. Whoever interprets it with other than this, then he is wrong and he has lost his share [i.e. in the correct interpretation] and claimed that which he had no knowledge of."

Ibn Hajar said, "Ad-Daawoodi said, 'What Qataadah said about the stars is good with the exception of his statement, 'he is wrong and he has lost his share,' as this falls short (in judging such a person); rather, the one who says this is a disbeliever.'"

"It is not necessary that the one who said this is a disbeliever; the one who becomes a disbeliever is the one who says that the stars create incidents by themselves, but the one who considers them as a sign for the occurrence of some incidents on earth, then no (i.e. he does not become a disbeliever by that)." [Fat-h Al-Baari]

Shaykh Ali Al-Khudhayr elaborated on the issue of Astrology in Sharh Kitaab At-Tawheed, as he said:

"The science of the stars is divided into two categories in its essence:

1) Science of causing an effect.

2) Science of calculating the positions of the moon in order to know the timings of acts of worship and timings of farming and sowing seeds.

The meaning of causing an effect is the effect of stars on incidents, and it is of different kinds:

The first kind: to believe that the star causes an effect in and off itself; i.e. that it creates events; the ruling on this is that it is major Kufr (disbelief) according to the consensus of the scholars. Allah says (what means): {Is there any creator other than Allah?} [Quran 35:3]

This question in the verse is metaphoric and indicates negation; i.e. there is no creator other than Allah. Whoever believes in the effect of the stars in this sense commits Shirk in Ruboobiyyah (i.e. he associates partners with Allah).

The second kind: it is to foretell the future from the movements of the stars when they rise, when they set, when they meet, and when they separate; i.e. to infer the Unseen through the stars. This is Kufr and major Shirk because it is claiming to have knowledge of the unseen. Allah says (what means): {Say, "None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allah."} [Quran 27:65]

The third kind: it is to believe that the stars are only a cause and that the Doer is Allah: so he considers them to be a cause for the occurrence of incidents, and when incidents happen, he attributes the causality to the star.

The difference between this kind and the one before it is as follows: the previous kind is about telling what will happen in the future, while this kind is about the incidents that have already happened, but the person attributes their cause to the star... This kind is forbidden and it is considered to be minor Shirk." [Abridged]

As for palmistry (reading the palm), it belongs to fortunetelling, which is considered Kufr.

In Fataawa Noorun ‘ala Ad-Darb (3/363), Shaykh Ibn Baaz was asked, "What is the ruling on reading the palm, whether one is serious about it or only joking?"

He replied:

"It is invalid and belongs to fortunetelling, which is impermissible. Palm-reading, reading coffee cups and the like, throwing pebbles and cowrie shells; all this is false and is part of claiming knowledge of the Unseen. If one claims that he knows the Unseen by these practices, then he has indeed committed major Kufr – we seek refuge in Allah from this – because it is only Allah Who knows the Unseen. The Unseen cannot be known by throwing pebbles or reading the palm or reading coffee cups, nor by any other thing which the sorcerers use. It is only Allah Who knows the Unseen. So if anyone claims that by reading the palm or throwing pebbles or counting on the fingers, or by any other thing, that he knows the Unseen, then all this is disbelief in Allah. Allah says (what means): {Say: None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allah.} [Quran 27:65] Allah also says to his noble Prophet (what means): {Say (to them), O Muhammad: I do not tell you that I have the depositories [containing the provision] of Allah or that I know the unseen.} [Quran 6:50]

Therefore, whoever claims to know the Unseen by reading the palm, throwing the pebbles or cowrie shells, or any other calculations, then all this is void, and all this is Kufr and misguidance – may Allah spare us from this."

Shaykh Ibn Baaz also said in Majmoo’ al-Fataawa:

"The science of the stars and the so-called rising and setting of the stars, and reading the palm, reading the cup, and reading lines, and so on, which are claimed by the fortunetellers and magicians, are all among the sciences of the Jaahiliyyah (Pre-Islamic Era of Ignorance) which Allah and His Messenger have forbidden. Islam invalidated all such practices and warned people against them and against going to those who practice them, asking them about it, or believing in anything they say, because it is part of the knowledge of the Unseen, which only Allah knows.

My advice to everyone who relies on such practices is to repent to Allah and to seek His Forgiveness, and to rely on Allah Alone and trust Him in all matters while using the legitimate means and permissible tangible causes, and to stay away from these practices and beware of asking those who practice them or believing what they say, as a way of obedience to Allah and His Messenger and as a way of preserving one’s religion and Creed, and to avoid incurring the Wrath of Allah upon him, and staying away from the causes of Shirk and Kufr, which, if one dies while practicing them or believing in them, then he indeed loses this world and the Hereafter." [Majmoo’ Al-Fataawa, 2/120-122]

However, declaring a Muslim to be a disbeliever is a very serious matter, as there could be some impediments that prevent from ruling that he is a disbeliever, such as ignorance, compulsion, misinterpretation, or not establishing the evidence against him and so forth.

Hence, a Muslim is not accused of Kufr unless the conditions of declaring him as a disbeliever are met while there are no impediments that prevent from declaring him as such.

Ibn Taymiyyah said, "No one can declare a Muslim as a disbeliever, even if he errs, unless the evidence is established against him, because if someone's Islam is confirmed with certainty, it cannot be overruled with mere doubt. Rather, his Islam cannot be overruled unless the evidence is established against him and all misconception is removed from him."

Ibn Taymiyyah also said, "There are conditions for declaring a specific person to be a disbeliever and impediments that may prevent from declaring him as such. The general accusation against a group that they are disbelievers does not necessitate declaring a specific person as a disbeliever unless certain conditions are met and certain impediments are absent. The proof of this is that Imaam Ahmad and most scholars who stated such generalities did not declare most of those who said these very statements as disbelievers."

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Allah knows best.