It is this religious cause that benefits people, so that they may return to Allah. As for the physical cause, it is of no great benefit. This is why the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, did not explain it. Had it been of great benefit to people, he would have explained it through revelation, for Allah knows the physical cause of eclipses; but we have no need of it. In such physical matters, Allah leaves the task of discovering them to people and to their investigations, so that they may themselves come to recognize the magnificent signs that Allah has placed within this universe.

As for religious causes—or religious matters—which neither reason nor the senses can perceive, these are what Allah explains to His servants.

If someone were to ask: How can the physical and religious causes coexist, when the physical cause is known and recognized by people before the event occurs, while the religious cause is known through revelation? How can the two be reconciled?

The answer is that there is no contradiction between them. Great events such as the earth swallowing people up, earthquakes, thunderbolts, and the like—events whose harm people perceive and recognize as punishment—have natural causes which Allah decrees, thereby bringing about their effects. Yet the wisdom behind them is to frighten His servants. Earthquakes have causes, thunderbolts have causes, volcanoes have causes, and storms have causes; but Allah decrees these causes so that people may remain upright upon the religion of Allah. Allah Most High says:

“Corruption has appeared throughout the land and sea by reason of what people’s hands have earned, so that He may let them taste some of the consequences of their deeds, so that perhaps they may return.” [Surah al-Rum]

Yet many people find it difficult to reconcile the physical cause with the religious cause, and most people