بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
Q. What is the ruling on gazing at meteors and stars of piercing brightness?
It was narrated on the authority of Muḥammad bin Sīrīn that he said: “We were with Abū Qatādah on the roof of our house when he saw a star descending.—meaning a piercing meteor (shihāb thāqib) following a devil—and the people looked at it. Abū Qatādah then said:
‘We were forbidden from following it with our eyes.'”
Musnad Aḥmad (37/244 no. 22549)
This ḥadīth, as you can see, is in “As-Ṣaḥīḥ al-Musnad” by Imām al-Wādiʿī -may Allāh have mercy on him-. It is an authentic ḥadīth and contains evidence for the prohibition of looking at a meteor, except for an accidental first glance that a person cannot avoid. If one sees it moving, they should not follow it with their sight.
As for the wisdom (ʿillah) behind this: Allāh knows best. It could be for devotional reasons (taʿabbudī), or it could be because there is harm in doing so. When a Companion says, “We were forbidden,” it takes the ruling of being attributed to the Prophet ﷺ (Marfūʿ). As mentioned in the Alfiyyah (al-ḥadīth by Al-ʿIrāqī):
وَلِيُعْطَى حُكْمَ الرَّفْعِ فِي الصَّوَابِ ... نَحْوُ "مِنَ السُّنَّةِ" مِنْ صَحَابِي
كَذَا "أُمِرْنَا" وَ"كَذَا كُنَّا نَرَى" ... "فِي عَهْدِهِ" أَوْ عَنْ إِضَافَةٍ عَرَى
"In the correct view, the ruling of Rafʿ (attribution to the Prophet) is given … to a Companion’s statement like 'It is from the Sunnah'
Similarly 'We were commanded' and 'We used to see [doing] … such-and-such during his time' or even without explicit attribution [to the Prophet]."
If a Tabiʿī says, “We were commanded” or “We were forbidden,” the most correct view is that it is Mawqūf (stopped at the level of the Companions), meaning they were commanded by the Companions. However, if the context indicates they are attributing it to the Prophet ﷺ, then it is Mursal and weak.
The point is that it is not permissible for a person to follow a star, planet, or meteor with their eyes. Allāh says:
﴿النَّجْمُ الثَّاقِبُ﴾
“(It is) the star of piercing brightness”
Surah Aṭ-Ṭāriq: 3
and
﴿فَأَتْبَعَهُ شِهَابٌ ثَاقِبٌ﴾
“And they are pursued by a flaming fire of piercing brightness”
Sūrah Aṣ-Ṣāffāt 37:10
We also read:
﴿وَأَنَّا لَمَسْنَا السَّمَاءَ فَوَجَدْنَاهَا مُلِئَتْ حَرَسًا شَدِيدًا وَشُهُبًا﴾
“And we have sought to reach the heaven; but found it filled with stern guards and flaming fires.”
Sūrah Al-Jinn 72:8
There is a difference of opinion on what “guards” refers to; it is said they are the angels, and the “flames” are the stars.
Qatadah stated that stars were created for three purposes:
- As decoration for the sky.
- As missiles/stoning for the devils.
- As signs for guidance for travelers.
Whoever seeks knowledge from the stars beyond these three has wasted his portion of knowledge. As narrated in the ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAbbās:
“ مَنِ اقْتَبَسَ عِلْمًا مِنَ النُّجُومِ اقْتَبَسَ شُعْبَةً مِنَ السِّحْرِ زَادَ مَا زَادَ ”
“Whoever acquires a branch of knowledge of the stars (astrology) has acquired a branch of magic; he increases [in sin] as much as he increases [in that knowledge].”
Sunan Abī Dāwūd 3905 Ḥasan (Al-Albānī)
– Shaykh Abul-Yamān Shaykh ʿAdnān bin Ḥusayn al-Maṣqarī -may Allāh preserve him-
– Translated by Abu Aasiyah Muzaffar al-Hindi -may Allah rectify his affairs, hidden & apparent-
Source: https://t.me/AbulYamman/20326
