The response to the claim that the Prophet did not know the nature of solar and lunar eclipses

 

Claim that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not know the nature of solar and lunar eclipses ( *)


Content of the doubt:

Some sophists denounce the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for his position on the phenomenon of solar and lunar eclipses , saying: Whoever reads the hadiths mentioned in the two Sahihs and others will see the extent of his fear of this phenomenon. On the one hand, the hadiths mention that Allah frightens His servants with a solar eclipse, and on the other hand, they command them to resort to prayer, supplication, seeking forgiveness, and glorifying Allah until He reveals what is wrong with them. This is evidence that the Prophet ( peace and blessings of Allah be upon him ) did not know the real reason for this phenomenon and that it is a natural phenomenon that has its time and does not cause harm to anyone. They ask: If a person has been able to accurately determine the times of solar and lunar eclipses , does that mean that he now knows when Allah frightens His servants?


Two aspects of refuting the doubt:
1) The Prophet , may God bless him and grant him peace, corrected the false beliefs that were prevalent in his time about the phenomenon of solar and lunar eclipses when he said: “The sun and the moon are two signs of God’s signs. They do not eclipse for the death or life of anyone.” The sun and the moon move according to a precise and precise system, and the phenomenon of eclipses is a natural phenomenon with the causes and effects that God has placed in it, according to the divine power and ruling will, and it has no relation to any of these corrupt beliefs that people believed in. Scientists did not realize these facts until recently; in Europe until recently, people believed that the phenomenon of eclipses was related to superstition. Therefore, this hadith is considered the basis for correct astronomy. 2) There is no doubt that an eclipse is a natural event that does not come before or after its time and place, but natural things - according to the cosmic laws - are not outside the scope of the Divine Will, as everything in the universe happens by His will and power, and what happens to these great bodies is worthy of alerting hearts to the greatness of the authority of Allah, the Most High, the comprehensiveness of His power and the extent of His wisdom. Therefore, hearts must turn to Him in glorification, tongues in supplication, and foreheads in prostration. If we add to that theharms that are usually associated with the phenomenon of an eclipse , we know why the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, commanded prayer and supplication. Thus, there is no excuse for those who ask: Why the fear when it is a natural phenomenon?! Details: First - In the saying of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: “The sun and the moon are two signs among the signs of Allah” is a correction of the false beliefs that were prevalent: 1)





Scientific facts:

A. Solar eclipse :
Studies have revealed - as stated - that the Earth and the Moon derive light from the sun's rays falling on them, and therefore a person does not see the Moon unless there are rays falling on it to illuminate it and reflect on the Earth's surface, and thus the observer from Earth sees both the Sun and the Moon at some times, and may see parts of them, or may not see either of them at other times.
It is known that one of the characteristics of light rays is that they spread in straight lines in a homogeneous medium, and their spread is in the form of beams known as light beams, while shadows are formed as a result of an opaque body obstructing the field of light rays, and this explains to us the reasons for the occurrence of the process of solar eclipses and lunar eclipses; as these two natural phenomena result in the sun or moon being hidden from the Earth as a result of the parallel spread of the sun's rays in straight lines. Accordingly
; A solar eclipse is the blocking of all or part of the sun's light from the Earth. This only happens if the moon is between the Earth and the sun, and the centers of the Earth, the sun, and the moon are all on the same meridian; that is, on the same straight line ([1]). Solar eclipse Types of eclipses: Eclipses have four forms in which they appear, which are: o Total eclipse : The moon blocks the entire disk of the sun, and when the yellow sun disappears completely, rays appear from behind the moon, which are the rays of the solar corona, which are a million times fainter than the sun's rays, and they only appear during a total eclipse . A total eclipse represents 28% of all eclipses. o Partial eclipse : The moon passes in front of a large or small part of the sun's disk, but the yellow rays of the sun remain visible from the remaining part of the sun, and the solar corona does not appear with it. In this case, the viewers are standing in the penumbra area on the Earth, not in the moon's shadow area where the eclipse is total. Partial eclipses represent 35% of all solar eclipses. Partial eclipse o Annular eclipse : This is a strange eclipse in which the moon is located directly in front of the sun's disk, as in a total eclipse , except that it does not cover it completely, but leaves a ring of yellow sun rays around it; that is why it is called an annular eclipse, and the reason for that is that the moon is far from the earth or the sun is close to the earth, so the sun's disk is larger than the moon's disk, so the moon cannot block the entire sun's disk. This eclipse represents 32% of all eclipses. Annular eclipse o Total annular eclipse : Sometimes the eclipse is a combination of the previous three eclipses. To see one of the total or annular eclipses, a partial eclipse must be seen before them ([2]). B. Lunar eclipse :

A lunar eclipse means: "the complete or partial obscuration of the moon's light from the Earth." This only happens when the Earth is between the Sun and the Moon, when its center is on the same straight line; that is, on the same meridian. Lunar eclipse There are two types of eclipses that occur to the Moon, which are: Total lunar eclipse : In which the Moon disappears completely and does not appear to the observer on the Earth's surface. Partial lunar eclipse: This occurs when part of the Moon falls in the Earth's shadow area, and the other part falls in the penumbra area, so the observer sees that the latter part is illuminated, while the other part that falls in the shadow area appears dark ([3]). 2 ) The correspondence between scientific facts and what is stated in the noble hadith: The sun eclipsed during the time of the Prophet , may God bless him and grant him peace, on the day his son Ibrahim died, so people quickly said: The sun eclipsed because of the death of Ibrahim, the son of the Prophet , may God bless him and grant him peace . It was the custom of the ancients to attribute any phenomenon to myths and superstitions. When the sun eclipsed, they would say: It eclipsed because of the death of a great man. Sometimes they would say: This is evidence that we will lose this battle, or that this king will die or his kingdom will be destroyed. Among the funny things that some people believed - such as in ancient China - was that when the sun eclipsed, it was as if a dragon had swallowed this sun. They would beat drums and throw arrows into the sky to frighten this dragon, then they would say: He was afraid and threw the sun and fled. Some people believed that when the sun eclipsed, this indicated that a great event would happen, because they associated the sun with the gods. These beliefs were, for that time, certain beliefs. The Prophet , may God bless him and grant him peace , provided the first systematic lesson in eliminating these superstitions and corrupt beliefs. Therefore, when people said: The sun eclipsed because of the death of Abraham, he did not confirm their mistakes, but rather corrected these false beliefs for them, so he, may God bless him and grant him peace, said : “The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of the death or life of anyone, but they are two signs from the signs of God, so when you see them, pray” ([4]). We can conclude from this statement of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, that the sun and the moon move in a precise and precise system, and that the process of eclipses is a very natural process that does not involve gods and has no connection to the death or life of anyone ([5]).















In the past, people believed that whoever stared at the moon when it was full would go mad. This is one of many myths, including the bad luck associated with a lunar eclipse among the Indians, who believed that the moon was angry with them because they were lazy. The same applies to the people of England, who believed that seeing the new crescent moon was bad luck unless they had a piece of silver in their pockets. They also believed that the best time to count their money was when the moon was full, so that their money would increase as the moon grew larger. There are other myths that Islam rejected, as it forbade the worship of the sun and the moon. The ancient Egyptians and the Himyarite tribe worshipped the sun, while the Kinana tribe worshipped the moon in pre-Islamic times. This is why the Almighty said: “Do not prostrate to the sun or to the moon, but prostrate to Allah, who created them” (Fussilat: 37) ([6]).
Therefore, what the challenger claims that the Prophet , may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was ignorant of the nature of eclipses and lunar eclipses is not true. Rather, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, put an end to the absurdities and beliefs of people, astrologers, and magicians, because the sun and the moon, and all the celestial bodies, move according to a system created by the Creator of the universe to bear witness to His greatness and wisdom, and the wonder of His command in His creation, and to speak of the perfection of His knowledge and the penetration of His will, and to indicate His power and majesty, and that everything with Him has a measure and balance, and the heavens have no relation to the destinies and fortunes of people in life. Allah, the Almighty, spoke the truth when He said: “The sun and the moon [move] by precise calculation” (5) (Ar-Rahman), this is from one perspective. From another perspective, this hadith carries within it a hidden indication that the Prophet , may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is truthful in his call to Allah and that he does not want the world, its adornments, or its fame. If he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace , had wanted … Something of this world to confirm his people’s saying when they said: “The sun eclipsed for the death of the son of the Prophet , may God bless him and grant him peace.” This statement increases his value in the eyes of his people and strengthens his position among them, but he does not want this world, nor does he want fame, rather he wants the face of God Almighty, and he wants us to build our faith on a solid scientific foundation ([7]). The Prophet , may God bless him and grant him peace, laid a scientific foundation for modern astronomy by saying: “The sun and the moon are two signs from among the signs of God,” and when he said , may God bless him and grant him peace: “They do not eclipse for the death or life of anyone,” he was the farthest superstition from the minds of people. Secondly - The wisdom behind the Prophet’s command, may God bless him and grant him peace, to rush to prayer, supplication, and seeking forgiveness when seeing an eclipse or lunar or solar eclipse: There are two reasons for an eclipse or lunar or solar eclipse: 1. A physical reason:








The reason for a solar eclipse is that the moon is between the sun and the earth, blocking some of its light from the earth but not all of it, because the sun is larger than the moon; therefore, a total eclipse cannot occur on all parts of the earth at the same time. A
lunar eclipse occurs because the earth is between the sun and the moon, so the earth comes between them. It is known that the moon is an opaque body that derives its light from the sun, so if the earth comes between them, an eclipse occurs.
2. A legal reason:
This is clearly evident in the hadith narrated by Al-Mughira bin Shu’ba, who said: The sun eclipsed during the time of the Messenger of Allah , may Allah bless him and grant him peace, on the day that Ibrahim died. The people said: The sun eclipsed because of the death of Ibrahim. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said : “ The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of the death or life of anyone, so if you see them, then pray and supplicate to Allah” ([8]). Abu Bakrah said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “The sun and the moon are two signs from Allah’s signs. They do not eclipse because of the death of anyone, but Allah , the Most High, frightens His servants with them” ([9]). Therefore, the legal reason for solar and lunar eclipses is for God to frighten His servants so that they abandon the sins and transgressions they have committed. Hence, the challenger’s statement that the Prophet’s statement, may God bless him and grant him peace : “Then hasten to prayer” and his statement that God frightens His servants with eclipses is evidence of his lack of knowledge of the true reason for solar eclipses. So why should we fear its eclipse when we know that it is a natural phenomenon that has its time and does not cause harm to anyone? We say: This statement is rejected from several aspects: Firstly : The fact that they are two signs that are known by calculation does not prevent them from being a warning from God Almighty, and that they are a warning from Him, glory be to Him, for He is the One who performed the signs and arranged their causes, just as the sun rises and sets at specific times, and so is the moon and the stars, and all of them are signs from the signs of God, the Most High said: “Indeed, your Lord is God, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then He established Himself on the Throne. He covers the night with the day, pursuing it rapidly. And the sun, the moon, and the stars are subjected by His command. Unquestionably, His is the creation and the command. Blessed be God, Lord of the worlds.” (54) (Al-A’raf) . God alone, glory be to Him, is able to move these planets and direct them. When He, glory be to Him, decrees an eclipse , He places the moon in a place between the sun and the earth, and no one other than God can cause an eclipse or a lunar eclipse. Rather, the most that a human being can do - with the instruction of God - is to He knows when they will happen ([10]). Imam Ibn Daqeeq al-Eid says: “Perhaps some of them think that what the people of account mention contradicts his saying: ‘ God frightens




“By them, His servants,” and it is nothing (meaning this belief); because God has actions according to custom, and actions outside of that, and His power is sovereign over every cause, so He has the power to cut off whatever He wishes of causes and effects from one another, and if that is proven, then the scholars of God, due to the strength of their belief in the generality of His power to break custom, and that He does what He wishes, if something strange happens, fear will occur to them; The strength of that belief, and that does not prevent there from being reasons that are customary unless God wills to break them. Therefore, the eclipse and lunar eclipse are like a warning to the servants of the occurrence of punishment from God Almighty, the Almighty said: “And We do not send the signs except as a warning (59)” (Al-Isra’), and this is from the wisdom of God Almighty so that people review their religion if they transgress and rebel before the punishment of their Lord befalls them; and for this reason the Prophet , may God bless him and grant him peace, commanded after the occurrence of the eclipse or lunar eclipse to supplicate, pray, seek forgiveness, repent, give charity, and free a slave. On the other hand: Modern astronomical studies have revealed that what happens on the surface of the Earth of phenomena related to the sun and moon also happens between the bodies and planets that float in the celestial space, and that this has a direct effect on what happens on the surface of the Earth, so when the sun, moon, and Earth all fall on one meridian, and the sunlight is hidden from the surface of the moon when it falls on it in the cases of the new moon and the full moon, the gravitational force of the moon and the sun increases over the centrifugal force of the Earth, and the gases in the atmosphere are affected by this The gas and water in the oceans on the surface of the Earth, and what is known as "high tides" is formed . It has also been shown that during the moments of a solar eclipse, the amount of solar energy reaching us decreases, so the temperature of the Earth decreases. On the contrary, during the moments of a lunar eclipse, the amount of solar energy reaching us increases, so the temperature rises relatively for a few minutes ([11]). Since these matters are calculated with great precision, the Earth is exposed during these two cosmic phenomena to dangers that only God knows. Hence, the commandment of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace , to increase the remembrance of God by praising, glorifying and extolling Him, and to resort to prayer, and to take the initiative to give charity, so that God Almighty may remove these dangers from the Earth and those on it. These two phenomena continue to contain dangers and secrets that only God knows ([12]). · On a third note: Scientists emphasize the necessity of avoiding looking at the sun during an eclipse, because just looking for a few seconds; The retina is seriously injured and sores, and these rays may cause temporary or permanent blindness. Therefore, scientists say: It is not permissible to look at the sun during an eclipse because it emits large amounts of infrared rays. The Prophet , may God bless him and grant him peace, gave us





To treat this phenomenon, we must ward off its danger from ourselves when we are commanded to resort to prayer, supplication, and remembrance of Allah.
Some historical legends mention that there were peoples who believed that looking at the sun during an eclipse made a person great, but the Prophet , may Allah bless him and grant him peace , warned us against that when he said: “... If you see that, then rush to the remembrance of Allah Almighty and to prayer” ([13]) ([14]). Solar eclipse When the sun is eclipsed, this phenomenon is dangerous because the sun is a lamp that emits light and dangerous radiation, and the most dangerous of these radiations are infrared rays, and infrared rays are rays that the sun emits constantly, but they are more dangerous during an eclipse. Therefore, the denunciation of the one who slandered the Prophet , may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for his fear of the eclipse on the pretext that it is a natural phenomenon that has its time and does not harm anyone - this denunciation is unjustified; Because it is a natural phenomenon that God has created causes for it to be known, this does not prevent it from being a warning and a frightening thing from Him, the Almighty. Just as harm occurs because this phenomenon is usually associated with what people fear that will harm them, so eclipses and lunar eclipses are often associated with the occurrence of an event on Earth, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, and others. Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said about his saying , may Allah bless him and grant him peace : “ Allah frightens His servants with them”: This is a statement from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that they are a reason for a punishment to descend upon people that will harm them. If it were not possible for harm to occur to people during an eclipse, this would not have been a frightening thing. Allah the Almighty said: “And We gave Thamud the she-camel as a visible sign, but they wronged her. And We do not send the signs except as a warning” (59) (Al-Isra’). The Prophet , may Allah bless him and grant him peace, commanded that which would remove fear, as he commanded prayer, supplication, seeking forgiveness, giving charity, and freeing slaves until what is afflicting people is removed ([15]). Accordingly, there is no argument for those who denounce the Prophet , may Allah bless him and grant him peace , for being afraid of an eclipse. He was so afraid when the sun eclipsed that he went out in haste and fear, to the point that he took the shield of one of his wives, thinking that it was his cloak, as came in Sahih Muslim from the hadith of Asma’ bint Abi Bakr, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said: “The sun eclipsed during the time of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he was frightened, so he took his shield by mistake until he caught up with his cloak after… ” That...”([16]). It is the duty of humanity to follow the example of what the Prophet , may God bless him and grant him peace, did , and for people to fear when these cosmic phenomena occur, such as solar and lunar eclipses

Eclipses are usually what people fear and that harm them; that is why the Prophet , may God bless him and grant him peace, commanded us to resort to prayer, supplication, and seeking forgiveness.
· Looking at the sun is very harmful and hurtful when it is eclipsed, while looking at the moon is not a problem. That is why the Great Prophet , may God bless him and grant him peace, warned against the phenomenon of solar eclipses; because they are the most dangerous.
· The Prophet , may God bless him and grant him peace , told us that the sun and the moon are two signs of God, and he commanded us to supplicate to God and resort to remembrance; so that He may remind us of the power of God Almighty, and that He sees us in every movement of our movements; therefore, we should remember God in every movement of this universe.

(*) Forum:
[1]. Encyclopedia of Scientific Miracles in the Sunnah of the Unlettered Prophet , may God bless him and grant him peace , Hamdi Abdullah Al -Saidi, Awlad Al-Sheikh Library for Heritage, Egypt, 1st ed., 2007, pp. 246-247
. [2]. Annular Solar Eclipse, Hani Muhammad Al-Dulaie, research published in the Scientific Miracle Magazine, previous reference, issue (22), Ramadan 1426 AH, p. 59.
[3]. Encyclopedia of Scientific Miracles in the Sunnah of the Unlettered Prophet , may God bless him and grant him peace , Hamdi Abdullah Al -Saidi, previous reference, p. 248.
[4]. Sahih Al-Bukhari (with Fath Al-Bari commentary), Book: Eclipse, Chapter: Prayer during a Solar Eclipse, (2/611), No. (1042). Sahih Muslim (with Al-Nawawi commentary), Book: Eclipse, Chapter: Mentioning the call to the eclipse prayer “Prayer is a gathering”, (4/1509), No. (2086).
[5]. Secrets of the Solar and Lunar Eclipse, Abdul-Daim Al-Kaheel, research published on the website: Engineer Abdul-Daim Al-Kaheel www.kaheel7.com .
[6]. Cosmic Knowledge between Science and the Qur’an, Dr. Mansour Muhammad Hasab Al-Nabi, previous reference, Vol. 1, pp. 162-163
. [7]. Secrets of the Solar and Lunar Eclipse, Abdul Daim Al-Kaheel, research published on the website: Engineer Abdul Daim Al-Kaheel www.kaheel7.com .
[8]. Sahih Al-Bukhari (with Fath Al-Bari commentary), Book: Eclipse, Chapter: Prayer during a Solar Eclipse, (2/612), No. (1043). Sahih Muslim (with Al-Nawawi commentary), Book: Eclipse, Chapter: Mentioning the call to the eclipse prayer “Prayer is a gathering”, (4/1509), No. (2087).
[9]. Sahih Al-Bukhari (with Fath Al-Bari commentary), Book: Eclipse, Chapter: The Prophet’s saying, may God bless him and grant him peace: “ God frightens his servants with an eclipse”, (2/623), No. (1001).
[10]. Eclipse and Lunar Eclipse, Yahya bin Musa Al-Zahrani, an article published on the website: Sayd Al-Fawaid www.saaid.net .
[11]. Encyclopedia of Scientific Miracles in the Sunnah of the Unlettered Prophet , may God bless him and grant him peace Salam , Hamdi Abdullah Al -Saidi, previous reference, p. 249.
[12]. The Scientific Miracle in the Prophetic Sunnah, Dr. Zaghloul Al-Najjar, Nahdet Misr, Cairo, 6th ed., 2004, vol. 1, p. 174.
[13]. Hasan Sahih: Narrated by Al-Nasa’i in his Sunan, Book: Eclipse, Chapter: Another Type, No. (1494). Al-Albani said about it in Sahih and Da’if Sunan Al-Nasa’i, No. (1483): Hasan Sahih.
[14]. Secrets of the Eclipse and the Lunar Eclipse, Abdul-Da’im Al-Kaheel, research published on the website: Engineer Abdul-Da’im Al-Kaheel www.kaheel7.com .
[15]. Majmoo’ Al-Fatawa, Ibn Taymiyyah, edited by: Dr. Anwar Al-Baz and Dr. Amer Al-Jazzar, Dar Al-Wafa, Cairo, 3rd ed., 1426 AH/2005 AD, vol. 24, p. 259.
[16]. Sahih Muslim (with Al-Nawawi’s commentary), Book: Eclipse, Chapter: What was presented to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, in the eclipse prayer regarding matters of Paradise and Hell, (4/1505), No. (2073).