THE REASON FOR ECLIPSES

10.9.25

بسم الله الرحمٰن الرحيم

🌗 THE REASON FOR ECLIPSES 🌓

Shaykh Ibn ʿUthaymīn (d. 1421H), may Allah have mercy on him, was asked:

> “Eclipses of the sun and moon are among the signs of Allah the Exalted, meant to frighten the servants and remind them of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, so that they avoid the sins which they commit day and night. But nowadays astronomers say that this is a natural occurrence that happens once a year, or more than once, in a specific manner. So how can it be a cause for fright? They also announce it, whether in newspapers or elsewhere. Thus, when it happens, people are no longer frightened, nor do they take admonition. Instead, their senses have become dull. What is your opinion on this? And in what way does this sign serve as a cause for fright?”

So his eminence, may Allah have mercy on him, answered saying:

> The fright that comes from this sign is for the one whose faith in Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and in what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, is complete.

Eclipses, whether solar or lunar, have two causes:

1. A natural cause – which can be perceived through observation and calculation. This is known by those who deal with astronomical computation, and they know it and can determine it to the very minute.

2. A sharʿī (legislated) cause – which is not known except through revelation, namely that Allah ordains this matter as a means to frighten His servants. So we ask: who is it that ordained the natural cause until the eclipse occurred? It is Allah. Why? So that people would fear and take caution.

That is why, when the Prophet ﷺ saw the sun eclipsed, he came out in a state of alarm until he even grabbed his cloak hurriedly and it was dragging along. The people too were alarmed. He then ordered someone to call out: “As-ṣalātu jāmiʿah” (“The congregational prayer is gathering!”). So the Muslims gathered together in one mosque, supplicating to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and turning in fear to Him. Thus, a true believer does become frightened, while the one whose mind is dull or whose faith is weak does not care about such a thing.

As for informing the people of an eclipse before it happens, I hold that it is not appropriate to inform them. Because if they are informed, they prepare for it as if it were a prayer of desire, similar to preparing for the ʿĪd prayer. Thus, it comes to them with readiness to perform an act, not with a sense of fright. However, if it occurs suddenly, there comes about an awe and fear that does not occur for one who already knew beforehand.

I will give an example with something tangible: If you descend from a step while prepared and knowing there is a step beneath you, will you be affected by anything? But if you are heedless and unaware, and then you suddenly fall onto the step, it will have an impact on your heart and affect you.

For this reason, I wish that eclipses not be announced or spread among the people. Even if they are published in newspapers, do not spread them among the people. Leave the people so that the matter comes upon them while they are unprepared and unexpectant of it – so that it will have a greater impact upon their souls.