Is there any drawback to looking at a shooting star? What does a shooting star and a rising star mean; are they related to the birth or death of people? What might be the hidden facts behind them?

Dear Brother / Sister,

There is no religious objection to looking at shooting stars.

- Are shooting and rising stars related to the births and deaths of people?

In fact, the rising and falling of stars are events that occur within the framework of Allah’s laws in the universe.

“The sun and the moon are not eclipsed for anyone’s life or death. On the contrary, they are signs from among the signs of Allah, signs from among the signs of infinite knowledge, power and wisdom.” (Kanzul-Ummal, h. No: 21554)

That issue is indicated in the hadith above.

The Prophet (pbuh) states the following in another longer hadith:

“...In ancient times, some people used to say that the eclipse of the sun and moon or the shooting of the stars was due to the death of some great people, but it is a lie. They are among the signs of Allah, the signs of His power and wisdom.” (Kanzul-Ummal, h. No: 38818)

That is one aspect of the issue, the aspect emphasizing that the stars, the moon and the sun do not know the birth or death of people and are not arranged accordingly. However, there is also an aspect that they are signs for certain events, that they point to them. For example, there is information that the moon will be eclipsed at the beginning of the same month of Ramadan and the sun will be eclipsed at the end of the same month as a sign of the emergence of Mahdi. The following should be understood from those narrations: The moon and the sun will not be eclipsed in that month of Ramadan because of the emergence of Mahdi. On the contrary, it has divinely been ordained that the moon and the sun will be eclipsed one after the other in that Ramadan, so that the emergence of Mahdi will be a sign for that great event and that some people will learn a lesson from it.

At the beginning of the First World War, the sun was eclipsed and a comet was born; and those rare events were interpreted as harbingers of the catastrophe of war.

It is wrong to evaluate such events in a cause-and-effect determinism. Rather, it is a kind of coming together; it is the occurrence of two events at the same time - in accordance with divine predestination. For example, the comet did not cause the First World War, nor did the First World War cause the birth of the comet. Both events occurred at the same time according to the timetable drawn by Allah’s eternal predestination; and one was revealed to mankind as a sign for the other.

- I wonder what the hidden truths behind the events occurring in the universe are?

One of the clearest examples of the issue can be found in the Fifteenth Word of the Risale-i Nur Collection. Badiuzzaman Said Nursi interprets the following verse of the Quran there:

“And we have, (from of old), adorned the lowest heaven with Lamps, and We have made such (Lamps) (as) missiles to drive away the Evil Ones...” (al-Mulk, 67/5)

According to the expression of the verse, the celestial event, which is popularly called ‘shooting stars’, is in fact the throwing of some missiles and fireballs by the angelic beings at the evil spirits who ascend towards the heavens and try to learn some news from there. Those evil spirits, who can only ascend to the Earthly Sky, that is to say, to the near sky, and not to the inhabitants of the High Community and their conversations, attempt to steal something from this near sky, to steal some news about the future; in response to this attempt, they are hit by fiery catapult cannons and flaming bullets by the inhabitants of the sky. The manifestation of that battle appears as what we call the shooting stars.

According to the explanation above, there is coming and going from the earth to the sky, and there is descent and ascent from the sky to the earth and important necessities for the earth are sent from there; and since good spirits rise to the sky, for sure, imitating the good spirits, evil spirits will also attempt to ascend to the realm of the heavens. For they are light and subtle in regard to their beings. However, they will doubtlessly be repulsed and expelled because they are evil and inauspicious by nature. Moreover, there will doubtlessly be a sign, an indication, in the manifest world of this important exchange, this contest outside the realm of materiality. For human beings have the duty of observation, witnessing, supervision, and acting as a herald in the world. Since man has such a duty, God Almighty, who informs man of spring through rain before spring, will inform him of such an important celestial event through some means and will make and has made him an observer of this celestial struggle.

When the Quran narrates such a cosmic event to us, it informs us of some spiritual events that are actually hidden from our eyes and gives us information on the following three hidden facts that those events bear:

a. That is to say, the struggle between good and evil, which continues on earth in terms of human beings, also takes place in the sky between the evil spirits and the angelic beings.

b. That is to say, just as there are human beings, the inhabitants of the earth, who represent good and are responsible for servitude on earth, so too are there angelic beings, the inhabitants of the stars and planets, who are charged with the same duty in the sky.

c. That is to say, the shooting lights from the sky are not shooting stars with no meaning, but the stoning of the evil spirits who are trying to spy on the news of the sky with purposeful bullets. And when a person witnesses this event, he should not make a wish for it, but rather think about how God Almighty becomes manifest in the universe, on the earth and in the sky with His omnipotence, how He disciplines these evil spirits with missiles, how He informs us of this discipline in accordance with His wisdom and control, and he should say “Ya Mudabbir (O Controller)!” to His control, and “Ya Hakim (O Perfectly Wise)!” to His wisdom, and “Subhanallahi wa Bihamdihi Subhanallahilazim (Glory be to Allah and all praise is due to him, glory be to Allah the great)!” to His discipline that He has revealed through this general struggle.

According to Islam, man cannot know the future or foretell the future; however, one can make predictions about the future based on scientific data and events and take precautions in the light of those data.

In this context, the science of Astronomy, also called Ilm an-Nujum, has an important place among Islamic Sciences. However, in terms of the Islamic Religion, the science of astrology is to dwell on what should happen based on what happens; it is not related to talking about and judging the future (fate) of people and the world through soothsaying. Besides, Islam rejects reasoning and predicting the future through psychics and soothsayers or fortune-telling.

God Almighty states the following in the Quran:

“Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day,- there are indeed Signs for men of understanding.” (Aal-i Imran, 3/190)

“It is He Who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light (of beauty), and measured out stages for her; that ye might know the number of years and the count (of time). Nowise did Allah create this but in truth and righteousness. (Thus) doth He explain His Signs in detail, for those who understand.” (Yunus, 10/5)

“The sun and the moon follow courses (exactly) computed.” (ar-Rahman, 55/5)

“Blessed is He Who made constellations in the skies, and placed therein a Lamp and a Moon giving light!” (al-Furqan, 25/61)

“It is not permitted to the Sun to catch up the Moon, nor can the Night outstrip the Day: Each (just) swims along in (its own) orbit (according to Law).” (Yasin, 36/40)

There are signs of the wonderful order in the universe in the verses above and many more verses like them.

There are also expressions about the zodiac signs in the Holy Quran. Chapter 85 of the Holy Quran is called Buruj, the signs of the zodiac. The verses related to the signs of the zodiac are as follows:

“It is We Who have set out the zodiacal signs in the heavens, and made them fair-seeming to (all) beholders.” (al-Hijr, 15/16)

“Blessed is He Who made constellations in the skies, and placed therein a Lamp and a Moon giving light.” (al-Furqan, 25/61)

“By the sky, (displaying) the Zodiacal Signs.” (al-Buruj, 85/1)

As it is seen, the zodiac signs are celestial bodies that Allah has placed in the sky to serve human beings. Zodiac signs are creatures. It is not possible to accept the zodiac signs as creators, nor is it possible to say that because of such and such a sign, this thing happened or will happen. Accepting zodiac signs as creators or organizers of people’s affairs leads man to polytheism.

There is only a similarity of sound and no unity of meaning between the phrase “zodiac sign” in the Holy Quran and the phrase “zodiac sign” used by fortune tellers for fortune telling.

Our religion rejects the understanding of astrology, which is used in the sense of soothsaying, mediumship and fortune-telling, and demands that the words of those who make such claims not be trusted. In other words, it is strictly forbidden to believe the words of soothsayers, fortune tellers and psychics.

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