Sermon for the Eclipse Prayer.

The Shaykh : All praise is due to Allah, Who made the sun a light and the moon a source of illumination, and Who divided His servants into two groups: among them are those who believe in Allah, and among them are those who disbelieve, who are defiantly disobedient. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger. May Allah send prayers and blessings upon him, upon his family, upon his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. As for what follows:
O people, fear Allah the Exalted, and be grateful for His blessings upon you by what He has subjected for you of His creations. He has subjected for you all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth, from Him.
He has subjected for you the sun and the moon for the fulfillment of your religious and worldly interests, both individual and collective. How many benefits are there in the sun’s movement through its zodiac signs and the succession of the seasons? How many benefits are there in its alternation in its rising and setting, in its appearance and its disappearance? And how many benefits are there in the moon’s movement through its mansions and in the reckoning of years and calculations in its waxing and its newness?
O people, Allah has made the sun and the moon two of His signs indicating the perfection of His knowledge, the perfection of His might, the completeness of His power, and the perfection of His wisdom. They move by the command of Allah in their usual manner: the sun is a light and a blazing lamp, and the moon is a shining light that illuminates the night for the servants. When Allah wills to frighten His servants, He eclipses them by His command, and their light is extinguished, either entirely or partially, by the causes that He, Exalted and Majestic is He, has decreed to necessitate this. Allah decrees this eclipse to frighten the servants so that they may repent to Allah, seek His forgiveness, and stand by His obedience by worshipping Him and magnifying Him.
O servants of Allah! The eclipse in the sun or the moon is a fright from Allah for His servants. He frightens them of punishments that may befall them, punishments whose causes have been established, and destructive evils whose doors have been opened. The eclipse itself is not a punishment, but it is as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is a fright of punishments and evils that befall them due to their disobedience to the command of Allah and their transgression of it.
O believing Muslims who believe in Allah and His Messenger: A group has gone astray, neglecting this wisdom. They did not see in the eclipse any harm, did not raise their heads because of it, did not return to Allah with this warning, and did not stand before Him in humility and brokenness. They said: This eclipse is a natural matter known by calculation. By Allah, the example of these people is no better than the example of those about whom Allah said, among the disbelievers and the stubborn: I do not know about these people whether they are in doubt about what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) brought, so let them return to his Sunnah. It is established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) with certainty that leaves no doubt in the two Sahihs of al-Bukhari and Muslim and others. And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said when he addressed the people after the eclipse prayer: Did he say that on his own initiative? Did he say that while ignorant of what he was saying?
No, by Allah, he did not fabricate that, nor did he say it while ignorant of its meaning. And we bear witness to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and we bear witness to everyone who hears us from among His creation that everything the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said is the truth, and that he did not lie and was not lied about, and that he (peace and blessings be upon him) is the most knowledgeable of creation about Allah and the most aware of His signs and wisdom, and that he (peace and blessings be upon him) is the most sincere of creation to the servants of Allah, and that he is the most truthful of them in speech, and that he is the most eloquent of them in explanation, and that he is the most guided of them in Sunnah and path. So may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him.
O Muslims, glory be to Allah! How is it fitting for one who believes in Allah and His Messenger, knowing that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said about the eclipse: and then to say: How can the fright be by the eclipse when it is a matter known by calculation?
This question never applies to a matter authentically reported from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). It is obligatory for the believer, if he is a believer, to submit to what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said with complete submission, and to know with certainty that what is authentic from him (peace and blessings be upon him) cannot contradict reality. Rather, it is the one who has little share of knowledge and faith, or whose understanding is weak so that he is unable to reconcile the texts of the Shari'ah with reality, who assumes the contradiction.
O Muslims, we say, in concession to this question: That the eclipse is a matter known by calculation does not contradict at all that its occurrence is for the sake of fright.
Allah the Exalted has two wisdoms in decreeing the eclipse:
A wisdom of decree by which the eclipse occurs, and this is known to astronomers and those skilled in calculation. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not explain it to the Ummah, because ignorance of it does no harm, and indeed, knowledge of it may be harmful.
And a wisdom of the Shari'ah, which is the fright of the servants. This is known only by Allah, Mighty and Majestic, or by those of His messengers whom Allah has informed about it. Is it possible for anyone to know why Allah decreed the eclipse except if he has a revelation from Allah that He decreed it for such and such? And this is what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) explained to us, where he said about the eclipse: And to refute the assumption of those who assume, among the ignorant, that the eclipse is a natural matter. For if it were a natural matter, like the rising and setting of the sun and the mansions of the moon, it would be regular and periodic, every three months, or six months, or a year, or two years, for example. And we observe that eclipses vary among themselves: sometimes the eclipse occurs once in a year, sometimes twice in a year, sometimes once in two years or more than that, sometimes it is very few, and sometimes it does not occur except in ten years or more.
Also, it is sometimes total and sometimes partial, and sometimes its duration is long and sometimes its duration is short. If it were a natural matter, it would not differ in this way, just as the sun does not differ in its mansions in the zodiac signs, and the moon does not differ in its mansions from its newness and its fullness.
O Muslims, if it were a purely natural matter, there would be no fright in it, just as there is no fright in the rising and setting of the sun, nor in the rising and setting of the moon.
So fear Allah, O Muslims, and stand by the limits of Allah, and do not ponder over what is beyond that which you may know or not know, for in its knowledge there is harm for you. Indeed, Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said in His Book:
O believers in Allah and His Messenger: The eclipse is a serious event, and a reminder from Allah to His servants and a warning. The sun was eclipsed in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was in Medina only once, on a Monday, the twenty-ninth of the month of Shawwal in the tenth year of the Hijrah, after the sun had risen by about forty-five minutes. The people were greatly alarmed by it, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went to the mosque in alarm, and he sent a caller to call out: The prayer is gathered. So the people gathered, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with them a strange prayer with no counterpart in the usual prayers, just as the eclipse has no effect on the usual course of the sun and the moon. So it is a Shari'ah sign for a cosmic sign. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed it in two rak'ahs, with two bowings and two recitations in each rak'ah, which he pronounced aloud. He prayed it without the iqamah. So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said the takbir and recited al-Fatihah, then recited a long surah, about the length of al-Baqarah. Then he bowed a very long bowing, then raised his head and said: Allah hears the one who praises Him. Our Lord, and to You is the praise. Then he recited a long recitation, less than the first. Then he bowed a long bowing, less than the first. Then he said: Allah hears the one who praises Him. Our Lord, and to You is the praise. And he stood a long standing, about the length of his bowing. Then he prostrated a long prostration, about the length of his bowing. Then he sat between the two prostrations a long sitting, about the length of his prostration. Then he prostrated a long prostration, about the length of his first prostration. Then he stood for the second rak'ah and prayed it as he prayed the first rak'ah, except that it was less than it in recitation, bowing, prostration, standing, and sitting. Then he testified and said the taslim. Then he stood among the people and delivered a great, eloquent sermon. He praised Allah and extolled Him, then he said: And in a narration: And in another: And in a narration:
And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Or he said:
O Muslims, this is how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) acted in the eclipse prayer, and this is how he was alarmed, and he commanded alarm, and this is how the matters of the Hereafter were presented to him, and this is how he delivered that great and eloquent sermon to his community. So whenever you see the solar eclipse at any hour of the day, whether at the beginning, the middle, or the end, even before sunset, be alarmed to what you have been commanded to be alarmed to, namely supplication, remembrance, saying Allahu Akbar, seeking forgiveness, charity, and prayer. Then remind the people and advise them as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did, and then pray as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed: two units, with two bowings and two recitations in each unit. The advice comes after the prayer. And whenever you see a lunar eclipse at any time, do the same. If the prayer is completed and the eclipse remains, engage in supplication, seeking forgiveness, and recitation until it clears.
O Muslims, take heed of the signs of Allah, and take from His signs a means to be in the pleasure of Allah, so that you may fulfill His obedience and avoid His disobedience. O Allah, we ask You, O our Lord, O Possessor of Majesty and Honor, O Ever-Living, O Sustainer, in this our station, to keep us away from the causes of Your anger. O Allah, keep us away from the causes of Your anger. O Allah, be pleased with us, and make us pleased with You. O Allah, we ask You for the causes of Your mercy, the determinations of Your forgiveness, the gain in every good, safety from every sin, success in Paradise, and salvation from the Fire.
I say this, and I seek forgiveness from Allah for myself and for you.