12 – The Prophet ﷺ himself experienced afflictions such as sickness, the loss of dear ones, military setbacks, and the hurt caused by people. Allah exposed him to the same human conditions that befall others, and all of this served to fortify his faith, increase his reward, and affirm his genuine humanity.

13 – His words, “If you see the two of them,” indicate that the eclipse prayer is tied to actual sighting, not to astronomical calculations. Therefore, if astronomers predict a lunar eclipse on a certain night but thick clouds prevent us from seeing it, we do not perform the eclipse prayer merely on the basis of their forecast—just as, when clouds hide the crescent on the night of doubt, we do not begin the fast even if the calculators insist that the moon has appeared.

Scholarly disagreement:
The jurists have differed over whether a sermon is prescribed for the eclipse prayer.
• The three imams—Abu Hanifah, Malik, and Ahmad—maintain that no sermon accompanies it.
• Al-Shafi‘i, Ishaq, and many hadith scholars deem it recommended, because the Prophet ﷺ addressed and admonished the people during an eclipse and dispelled their misconception that the sun or moon is eclipsed for someone’s death or life.