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The discipline featuring as “science of the stars” (‛ilm al-nujūm) in medieval classifications of knowledge in Islam actually consists of three parts: (1) astronomy (‛ilm al-falak, literally “the science of the sphere” or ‛ilm al-hay’a, “the science of the exterior shape”), which is concerned with the observation and the mathematical description of the celestial bodies and their movements; (2) a science, otherwise unnamed, to do with tables, calendars, and the calculating of eras; (3) astrology (‛ilm aḥkam al-nujūm, literally, “the science of the celestial decrees”), which deals with the prediction of events on earth on the basis of indications from the celestial revolutions (Kennedy 1998; Nallino 1944; Saliba 1982).
Like most other fields pertaining to the “rational sciences,” Islamic astrology is largely indebted to ancient traditions, especially from India, Persia, and Ancient Greece as these traditions were introduced into Islam as...
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de Callataÿ, G. (2013). Astrology in Islam. In: Runehov, A.L.C., Oviedo, L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sciences and Religions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8265-8_88
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