Question:

I hope that you can explain the prohibition on using and reading books of magic and astrology, because there are many such books, and some of my friends want to buy them, and they say that if they are not used for harmful purposes, there is nothing wrong with it. Please advise us, may Allah bless you. 

Answer:

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family and Companions, and those who follow him sincerely …  

What the questioner says is correct. The Muslims should beware of books of magic and astrology, and those who find them should destroy them, because they are harmful to the Muslim and cause him to fall into shirk. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever learns a branch of astrology has learned a branch of magic... And Allah says in His Holy Book about the two angels (interpretation of the meaning): “but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such things) till they had said, ‘We are for trial, so disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us)’” [al-Baqarah 2:102]. This indicates that learning magic and practising it is kufr. So the Muslim must oppose books which teach magic and astrology, and destroy them wherever they are. 

This is what is required. It is not permissible for a seeker of knowledge or anyone else to read them or learn what is in them. People other than seekers of knowledge also have no right to read them or learn what is in them, or to approve of them, because they lead to disbelief in Allah. What is required is to destroy them wherever they are. And the same applies to all books that teach magic and astrology - they must be destroyed.

Fataawa Noor ‘ala al-Darb by Shaykh Ibn Baaz (1/192)