The Causes of the Eclipse.

The Shaykh : The causes of the eclipse are of two types: a religious cause, which is not revealed except through revelation, and a natural cause, which astronomers know and calculate with precision, not exceeding or falling short by a minute. This astronomical knowledge, and this astronomical cause, is known to scholars; scholars have spoken about it in the past, such as the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and others. They explained that these causes are known to astronomers, meaning astronomers, and they estimate that it will occur at a specific hour on a specific day or night. This is because the movement of the sun and the moon, by the decree of the Mighty and Majestic, does not vary. It cannot be advanced or delayed. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: . These natural causes may not be discussed much in the revelation from the Book and the Sunnah, because they are left to science and its progress. They are not of great benefit. As for the second cause: the religious cause, which is not revealed except through revelation, this is the important one; this is the important one. These astronomers do not know this religious cause. In fact, they are among the most ignorant people regarding it. The religious cause: it is punishments whose causes have been established. But Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, by His mercy, removed them from the servants and frightened them of them through this eclipse, whether in the sun or the moon. What are their causes? Punishments whose causes have been established. So the sun or the moon is eclipsed to frighten the servants and warn them. We cannot grasp this through calculation or thought. This is not grasped except through what? Revelation. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us, saying: . And in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, they believed that the sun and moon do not eclipse except for the death of a great person or the birth of a great person. And Glorified is Allah, the Wise, the Knowing! The solar eclipse coincided in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with the day on which Ibrahim (may Allah be pleased with him) passed away. Ibrahim, the son of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), passed away, and the sun was eclipsed. So what did the people say? They said: The sun was eclipsed for the death of Ibrahim. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) invalidated this belief, invalidating it completely, because the celestial spheres and the upper world are never affected by what happens in the lower world. They are upper spheres that are not affected by what happens in the lower world. Therefore, wars, plagues, and other great atrocities occur, but are the celestial spheres affected by that? Answer. No. Earthquakes occur, wars occur, poverty and diseases occur, and so on, but the sun is the sun, the moon is the moon, the stars are the stars, and their course is their course. Indeed, the clouds are the clouds, and the rain is the rain. But Allah, Mighty and Majestic, causes what happens in the upper world to be a cause for frightening the lower world, which is the eclipse. It is now clear that the eclipse has two causes: the first, the second. The eclipse has two causes: the first: a religious cause. And the second: a natural cause. Good. Well done. Rest. What is the religious cause? Come up, you.
The student: Punishments whose causes have been established and Allah removed them...

The Shaykh : Well done. May Allah bless you. Punishments whose causes have been established, meaning that people committed sins for which they deserve to be punished, so Allah makes this eclipse a warning and a source of fear. This is a religious cause. As for the natural cause, it is known to astronomers who know it by the hour and minute, and by night and day. But this does not concern us much. What concerns us much and is important to us is what is not known except through revelation, which is the religious cause.