Page 17 - Risala Sep.12 (Complete Fiels)

15 says that soothsayers and wizards used to foretell future by making horoscopes. Hindus practice similar thing. They foretell future using palmistry. These soothsayers (Kahin) are also like them. The Qur'an has called them Shaa-'er, not the ones who write poetry as we normally understand by this word, but the ones who practice sorcery. Different faces of superstition Dear friends! Arabs also believed in “inspiration”. Those who possessed this power were called sorcerers, poets, or astrologers. Thus, in the world of religions, wherever tyranny and oppression prevailed, i.e., wherever human freewill and power of choice was usurped, the Qur'an challenged them all. The Qur'an challenged especially the Arabs of the time who were deeply steeped in such superstitious beliefs. It said that those who are engaged in predicting the kismet using astrology are engaged in guesswork in darkness, and the Qur'an calls them 'rajum-al-shayaatin'. The Arabic word 'rajam' means to throw something. The tradition of rajam comes from this where they throw stones to kill adulterers. In Arabic 'rujum-al-shayaatin' means to engage in guesswork, i.e., to throw arrows in darkness; and one obviously does not know then that an arrow hit the target or not. We also use this popular phrase 'the arrow did not hit the target!' And the meaning is exactly the same as guesswork. The Qur'an says that these are simply stars in the sky, and look at them? They are engaged in guesswork using these stars and they have this belief that their future is tied with stars! Even in our times we see a huge number of magazines promoting astrology. Every year they publish a special number and strangely they call it Islamic. And a whole page is devoted to predicting kismet through astrology saying for example: now this knowledge of stars has entered Venus, or now it has come near Mars. Not only individuals, even nations and governments are engaged in this knowledge of astrology. They are making predictions about America through horoscope. As I have said, Americans have already landed on the moon. They will land on Mars they tell in the horoscope. Now-a-days there is no difference between individuals and nations. They have all been made subservient to stars without the power of freewill and choice. Of course Americans dismiss it as a joke. But the belief in Taqdir has become part of our life now. Our governments also run on Taqdir, as are individuals. And everyone says: it is all “Allah's will”. This is 'rujum-al-shayaatin' this is throwing arrows in darkness.