How can an eclipse be determined by calculation?
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The student: Historians... how do they know about the eclipse?
The Shaykh : Yes, may Allah keep you safe. The eclipse is now known for the past and the future. They currently determine the future eclipse, saying it begins at such-and-such time and ends at such-and-such time. They know the past just as they know the future. They determined the eclipse that occurred during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on that Monday, the twenty-ninth of Shawwal in the year ten, at 8:30 AM Cairo time, which is 7:30 AM Kingdom time. I reviewed this time and found it to be in the French time zone in January; I forgot which day in January. I found that between the eclipse and the sunrise was forty minutes, meaning two-thirds of an hour. In some narrations in Musnad Ahmad,
The student: Do you believe them...?
The Shaykh : Because this is by calculation. The past is known by calculation. And there is evidence that the historians say—do you know what they say? They say that Ibrahim (may Allah be pleased with him) died on the tenth of Rabi' al-Awwal, the son of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And it is impossible for the sun to be eclipsed on the tenth day, absolutely not.
The student: The reason?
The Shaykh : Because the reason for a solar eclipse is the moon interposing itself between it and the earth. And on the tenth of Rabi', this is absolutely impossible.
The student: And the moon?
The Shaykh : And the moon does not occur except on the nights of the waxing moon.
The student: ...eleven, fifteen?
The Shaykh : Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen is possible. Because the reason for its eclipse, the cosmic reason, is the earth interposing itself between it and the sun. For this reason, when the scholars gave the example, they said if the sun rises and the moon is eclipsed, then the eclipse prayer is not performed. We say this is an impossible obligation, because it is not possible for the sun and the moon to be in the horizon together for an eclipse to occur, absolutely not. Because the eclipse requires it to be under the earth so that it interposes between it and the moon.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : No, no, it was eclipsed, but it did not appear. I did not pray with the naked eye. It was eclipsed for us. How did we put a mirror? Because with the naked eye, but we put a mirror and saw it eclipsed, approximately between one-eighth and one-quarter.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Certainly, I have no doubt. And these are observers of Allah. And the scholars mentioned it before the meticulous ones, like Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and others, and Ibn Hazm, that it is something known by calculation, not knowledge of the unseen.
The Shaykh : Yes, may Allah keep you safe. The eclipse is now known for the past and the future. They currently determine the future eclipse, saying it begins at such-and-such time and ends at such-and-such time. They know the past just as they know the future. They determined the eclipse that occurred during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on that Monday, the twenty-ninth of Shawwal in the year ten, at 8:30 AM Cairo time, which is 7:30 AM Kingdom time. I reviewed this time and found it to be in the French time zone in January; I forgot which day in January. I found that between the eclipse and the sunrise was forty minutes, meaning two-thirds of an hour. In some narrations in Musnad Ahmad,
When the sun had risen the height of a spear
لما ارتفعت الشمس قيد رمحThe student: Do you believe them...?
The Shaykh : Because this is by calculation. The past is known by calculation. And there is evidence that the historians say—do you know what they say? They say that Ibrahim (may Allah be pleased with him) died on the tenth of Rabi' al-Awwal, the son of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). And it is impossible for the sun to be eclipsed on the tenth day, absolutely not.
The student: The reason?
The Shaykh : Because the reason for a solar eclipse is the moon interposing itself between it and the earth. And on the tenth of Rabi', this is absolutely impossible.
The student: And the moon?
The Shaykh : And the moon does not occur except on the nights of the waxing moon.
The student: ...eleven, fifteen?
The Shaykh : Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen is possible. Because the reason for its eclipse, the cosmic reason, is the earth interposing itself between it and the sun. For this reason, when the scholars gave the example, they said if the sun rises and the moon is eclipsed, then the eclipse prayer is not performed. We say this is an impossible obligation, because it is not possible for the sun and the moon to be in the horizon together for an eclipse to occur, absolutely not. Because the eclipse requires it to be under the earth so that it interposes between it and the moon.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : No, no, it was eclipsed, but it did not appear. I did not pray with the naked eye. It was eclipsed for us. How did we put a mirror? Because with the naked eye, but we put a mirror and saw it eclipsed, approximately between one-eighth and one-quarter.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Certainly, I have no doubt. And these are observers of Allah. And the scholars mentioned it before the meticulous ones, like Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and others, and Ibn Hazm, that it is something known by calculation, not knowledge of the unseen.