Explanation of the Book of Prayer and Its Times-05a
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The reciter: Abdullah ibn Muslimah narrated to us from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from Ata ibn Yasar from Abdullah ibn Abbas, who said: .
The Shaykh : It appears that he was shown it while it was in front of him, for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stepped back in fear of its heat, and this indicates that it was before him. However, this reasoning can be countered by what we mentioned a moment ago, which is that the conditions of the Hereafter are not measured by the conditions of this world. The Fire that he saw in front of him and between his hands, from which he stepped back in fear of its heat, is not actually located in that place, because if it had truly existed in that location, the place would have burned, and those around it would have burned as well. The realm of the Hereafter is not measured by the conditions of this world. Rather, it is said that the direction toward what is worshipped besides Allah is, at the very least, similar in appearance to the worship of the disbelievers and those who associate partners with Allah. Therefore, the least that can be said about it is that it is disliked. But the issue before us now is electricity: does it fall under this, such that we do not pray toward an electric light bulb? Or is it said that this is not like the Fire that is worshipped besides Allah? It appears that the second opinion is closer to the truth. Likewise, what some people do by bringing incense burners and placing them in front of them is also permissible. And what people do in the winter by placing heaters in front of the worshippers, all of this is permissible. This is because it is known that the Zoroastrians worship fire when they kindle it with wood so that it has a body and a flame. Allah knows best. However, what we mentioned first is all permissible; none of it is problematic.
The sun was eclipsed, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed, then he said: I was shown the Fire, and I have never seen a sight more terrible than this one today.
انخسفت الشمس فصلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ثم قال أريت النار فلم أر منظرًا كاليوم قط أفظعThe Shaykh : It appears that he was shown it while it was in front of him, for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stepped back in fear of its heat, and this indicates that it was before him. However, this reasoning can be countered by what we mentioned a moment ago, which is that the conditions of the Hereafter are not measured by the conditions of this world. The Fire that he saw in front of him and between his hands, from which he stepped back in fear of its heat, is not actually located in that place, because if it had truly existed in that location, the place would have burned, and those around it would have burned as well. The realm of the Hereafter is not measured by the conditions of this world. Rather, it is said that the direction toward what is worshipped besides Allah is, at the very least, similar in appearance to the worship of the disbelievers and those who associate partners with Allah. Therefore, the least that can be said about it is that it is disliked. But the issue before us now is electricity: does it fall under this, such that we do not pray toward an electric light bulb? Or is it said that this is not like the Fire that is worshipped besides Allah? It appears that the second opinion is closer to the truth. Likewise, what some people do by bringing incense burners and placing them in front of them is also permissible. And what people do in the winter by placing heaters in front of the worshippers, all of this is permissible. This is because it is known that the Zoroastrians worship fire when they kindle it with wood so that it has a body and a flame. Allah knows best. However, what we mentioned first is all permissible; none of it is problematic.