"Lo in the creation
of the heavens and the earth and the difference of night and day .....
are signs for rational men." (II; 164)
Astrology and astronomy were closely linked in Islam,
encapsulated in the Arabic term Ilm al-nujum, which means the study of
both disciplines. The Qu'ran suggests that there are signs in nature for man to
read, and in the history of Islam the study of astronomy and astrology were at
one time regarded as having a higher spiritual purpose in thinking about the
universe. However the Hadith - the account of words and actions
attributed to Muhammad - mentions that only God knows the future, and implies
that man should not attempt to predict the future. Inaccurate forecasts could
also have serious consequences - for example, a series of disastrous predictions
by Taki al-Din in 1577 AD led to the demolition of the Istanbul observatory by
the Sultan Murat III.
Astrology
The main principles of Islamic
astrology were inherited from the Babylonian and Greek cultures, and were made
relevant to Muslim scholars because of the spiritual relationship, as
interpreted from the Qu'ran, between the celestial bodies and the heavens, and
man and the earth. Each of the signs of the zodiac was thought to govern certain
aspects of earthly life. They were not only related to people, but also the
seasons of the year, the weather, and agriculture, and different branches of
astronomy developed among Muslim scholars to deal with the diverse subjects of
astrology. Over time astronomers within state observatories came to distance
themselves from astrology due to its vulgar associations with fortune telling,
although it retained its appeal among the population.
Astronomy
Muslims obtained much of its astronomical knowledge
from Greek antiquity, but original work was also undertaken. Cosmological
theories were developed, mathematical models for planetary motion were improved,
and highly accurate observations of stellar movement were taken. The modern use
of Arabic terms such as zenith, azimuth and nadir, and
star names such as Betelgeose (bait al-Jauzah) and Algol (ra's
al-ghul) demonstrates Muslim influence on astronomy. |