Rely only on Allah! The story of Imam Ali(a) and an Astrologer
Riding on the horses, the Commander of believers, Imam ‘Ali (‘a) and his army set for Nahrawan. Suddenly, one of the heads of his Companions arrived, accompanied with a man, and said: “O Commander of believers! This man is an astrologer, he has something to say to you!”
The astrologer: “O Commander of believers! Do not move at this hour. Wait for a while! At lease, let two or three hours of the day pass before departing!”
The Imam (‘a) asked: “What for?”
The astrologer replied: “Because the position of the stars indicates that whoever starts on the way at this moment will be defeated by his enemy and will sustain a heavy loss for himself and his Companions, but if you depart at the time that I have indicated, you will gain the victory and will attain your goal.”
Then Imam Ali(‘a) addressed the assembly: “Avoid actions that lead to fortune-telling or pretending to know the future. The diviner is like a sorcerer: a sorcerer is the same as an infidel and an infidel is in the Fire (Hell).”
Turning his face towards the sky, he(‘a) recited some words of prayer relative to the confidence and reliance on the Almighty Allah, then he (‘a) looked at the astrologer and said: “We will oppose your prescription deliberately and we will set out just now.”
Imam ‘Ali (‘a) issued an immediate order to depart and move towards the enemy. The victory and success achieved in this war by Imam ‘Ali (‘a) was easier than any other of his earlier wars.
~Nahj al-Balaghah, sermon 77
Always remember:
We are not allowed to believe in the predictions of astrologers, as many of them are not true despite the fact that they some times say right. The Hadeeth says: Astrologers lie even if they say the truth sometimes. كذب المنجمون ولو صدقوا
If we believe in the astrologers, it means that we believe that they know the unseen, which is wrong.
