Question Summary:
Authenticity of a Hadīth regarding Hadhrat Ali Radhiyallāhu Anhu

Question Detail:

1. In fatwa #13993 you stated you would comment on the issue of astrology and it being learned by Shaykh Anwar Shah Kashmiri (RA), which was stated in his biography.2. I need to know the status of this hadeeth : " There is no better man than `Ali, and no sword better than Dhul-Faqar" “An angel called Radwan announced from the Heavens in (the Battle of) Badr ‘No sword other than Dhu Al-Faqar and no man better than `Ali.’” Please provide references from traditional scholars.

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

 
Astronomy is the study of objects such as the stars, moon etc. that exist beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. The study of such objects for calculation purposes such as for determining Qiblah, direction etc. is permissible.[2]
 
Astrology consists of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world. In the West, astrology most often consists of a system of horoscopes that claim to explain aspects of a person's personality and predict future events in their life based on the positions of the sun, moon, and other planetary objects at the time of their birth.[3] This is impermissible in Sharīah, as the knower of the unseen and future events is only Allāh Ta’ālā.[4]
 
We have not come across the exact excerpt referred to in the query in the original sources of Hadhrat Moulana Anwar Shah Kashmīrī Rahimahullāh’s biography. However, Hadhrat Moulanā Anwar Shah Kashmīrī Rahimahullāh did study astronomy.[5] Hence, if the excerpt from the link provided in the query is authentic, then it seems that the word should have been “astronomy” and not “astrology”.   
 
 

 
نَادَى مَلَكٌ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ يَوْمَ بَدْرٍ يُقَالُ لَهُ رَضْوَانُ لَا سَيْفَ إِلَّا ذُو الْفِقَارِ لَا فَتَى إِلًا عَلَيٌّ
 
An angel named Ridwān announced in the heavens on the day of Badr, “There is no sword except the Dhul Fiqār and there is no youngster except Alī (Radhiyallāhu Anhu).
 
The Muhaddithīn have stated that this narration has no basis in reliable collections of Hadīth.[6] It is a fabricated narration.[7]
 
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Abdul Azīm bin Abdur Rahman,
Student Darul Iftaa
U.S.A.
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.