What was shown to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) during the eclipse prayer.
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The Shaykh : When he finished the prayer, he stood up and delivered a great, eloquent sermon to the people. He (peace and blessings be upon him) explained that Paradise was shown to him, and Hell was shown to him. He advanced toward Paradise to take a cluster of grapes from it, saying: Sahih al-Bukhari 748 But Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) turned his attention away from it, and it became clear to him that he should not take anything. Then Hell was shown to him, and he retreated, retreating until he nearly reached the row of people, fearing its heat. He saw in it people being tortured. He saw in it 'Amr ibn Luhayy al-Khuza'i being tortured, dragging his intestines in the Fire. What are the intestines? They are the bowels, which he drags in the Fire, because he was the first to introduce shirk (associating partners with Allah) and the practice of leaving she-camels untethered among the Arabs. He also saw in it the owner of the hook. The owner of the hook is a man who steals from pilgrims with his hook; he takes a pilgrim's luggage and pulls it until it falls off the camel. If the people notice him, he says, "It got caught on the hook," meaning he did not intend to steal it. If they do not notice, he takes it and walks away. He saw him being tortured in the Fire. He also saw a woman being tortured because of a cat she had locked up; she did not feed it when she locked it up, nor did she release it to eat from the creatures of the earth, so she was tortured because of this cat. Look, the torture of an animal is a reason for a human to be tortured, and kindness to an animal is a reason for a human to be rewarded. A prostitute passed by a dog eating dry earth from thirst. What is dry earth? It is moist soil, which it eats from thirst. So she got down, took out water with her sandal, and gave it to the dog, so Allah forgave her. They said: Allah is the Greatest. Now, if you feed a sheep from its fodder and give it water, you increase your wealth, and the benefit is for you, and yet you have a reward with Allah. If you feed your family seeking thereby the Face of Allah, Allah rewards you for that. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas: Sahih al-Bukhari 56 This is the description of the eclipse prayer. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded his Ummah (the Muslim community) that when they see an eclipse, they should turn to prayer, supplication, dhikr (the remembrance of Allah), takbir (saying Allahu akbar), istighfar (seeking forgiveness), sadaqah (voluntary charity), and freeing slaves, in order to avert the evil whose causes have been established. The eclipse itself is not a punishment, but it is a warning of punishment. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih Muslim 901f For this reason, the stronger opinion of the scholars is that the eclipse prayer is a collective obligation (fard kifayah), and it must be performed in the town.
