Answering Objections to Islam · The Test for Any Prophecy

Astrology, horoscopes and lucky numbers

Handle with care. Do not overstate the studies. Say "controlled testing finds no effect", not "science has disproved everything spiritual".

In short

• 1.Astrological predictions fail under controlled testing
• 2.In China the unlucky number is four, because it sounds like the word for death; in the West it is thirteen
• 3.If a number carried inherent power, it would be consistent across cultures and centuries
• 4.Practitioners charge fees — but do not use the ability on the lottery

The claim being examined

Millions in secular societies, including atheists, follow horoscopes, numerology and palm reading.

The Islamic position

Controlled studies find no predictive power, and the "unlucky" numbers differ by culture — which is exactly what we would expect if they carry no real meaning.

Analysis

This card is not really about horoscopes; it is about the human appetite for foreknowledge that makes prophecy claims commercially and psychologically attractive. Islam's response is to close the whole market — fortune-telling is prohibited outright, which is a notable position for a religion that also claims prophetic foreknowledge. That combination is worth pointing out: the tradition that claims real predictions is also the one that bans the guesswork industry.

From the Sunnah

Sources

Abu Zakariya, Forbidden Prophecies, Ch. 1 · Susan Blackmore and Marianne Seebold on horoscope testing · Narlikar et al., controlled astrology trial · Forbidden Prophecies, Ch. 1, pp. 45-51

More in The Test for Any Prophecy

• Doomsday 2012 and the Maya calendar
• Joseph Smith and prophecies with deadlines
• Nostradamus: prophecy that only works backwards
• The five tests: how to judge any prophecy claim
• The Watchtower dates: failure, then reinterpretation