the cause of its eclipse, just as the death of certain great men brings calamities upon people. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, therefore explained that neither the sun nor the moon is eclipsed because of the death or life of anyone on earth.

He denied that death or life has any effect on eclipses of the sun and moon, and stated that they are among Allah’s signs, through which He inspires fear in His servants. He thus mentioned that one purpose behind this is to inspire fear in His servants, just as other signs do: strong winds, earthquakes, drought, persistent rains, and similar causes that may bring punishment. Allah punished nations with wind, the blast, and the flood. Allah Most High says:

“So We seized each for his sin. Among them were those upon whom We sent a storm of stones; among them were those seized by the blast; among them were those whom We caused the earth to swallow; and among them were those We drowned.”

He also says:

“And We gave Thamūd the she-camel as a clear sign, but they wronged her. We send signs only as a warning.”

The statement that He thereby inspires fear in His servants indicates that such a phenomenon may be a cause of punishment descending, as with fierce, stormy winds. This can only be so if Allah has made it a cause of what befalls the earth.

Thus, if someone says, “They have an effect,” meaning what is known about these phenomena through sense perception and other means, this is true. But Allah has commanded acts of worship that avert from us the harm sent through them, just as He commanded the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, at the time of an eclipse, to pray, give charity, supplicate, seek forgiveness, and free slaves. Likewise, when the wind blew, he, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would move back and forth, and his demeanor would change. He instructed that, when it blew, one should say:

“O Allah, we ask You for the good of this wind and the good of what