and so that the obedient may warn the disobedient. All these spiritual purposes do not conflict with the operation of the usual, material causes, as has been explained earlier.

Hadith Three
From ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her):

“The sun was eclipsed during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He stood and led the people in prayer, lengthening the standing; then he bowed and prolonged the bowing. He stood again and prolonged the standing, though it was shorter than the first, then bowed and prolonged the bowing, again shorter than the first; after that he prostrated and prolonged the prostration. In the second rakʿah he did the same as he had done in the first. When he finished, the sun had cleared. He then addressed the people, praised and extolled Allah, and said:

‘The sun and the moon are two of Allah’s signs; they are not eclipsed for the death or life of anyone. When you see this, call upon Allah, magnify Him, pray, and give charity.’

He then said, ‘O community of Muhammad, by Allah, no one is more protective than Allah—glorified be He—against His servant committing fornication or His maidservant committing fornication. O community of Muhammad, by Allah, if you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much.’”

In another wording: he completed four bowings and four prostrations.

Lexical notes
Aghyar (“more protective”) may be read in the nominative if mā is regarded as Tamīmīyah, or in the accusative if it is regarded as Ḥijāzīyah; the latter is preferable. The particle min is extra for emphasis in both readings. Aghyar is the comparative form of ghayrah (protective jealousy), which originally denotes agitation arising from ardor and honor; we affirm this attribute for Allah in a manner befitting His majesty.

Overall meaning
The sun was eclipsed during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He rose and led the people in prayer, prolonging the first standing to the length of reciting Sūrah al-Baqarah. He then bowed for a long time, stood saying, “Allah hears the one who praises Him; our Lord, to You belongs all praise,” and recited again at length, though less than the first recitation. He bowed once more, lighter than the first bowing, rose praising Allah, and prostrated at length. In the third rakʿah he repeated what he had done in the first until he had completed four rakʿahs and four prostrations. He then concluded the prayer, and by that time the sun had cleared. He addressed the people, praising and extolling Allah.

It happened that the eclipse coincided with the death of his son Ibrāhīm, so some people said, “It was eclipsed because of the death of Ibrāhīm,” following their pre-Islamic notion that an eclipse occurs only for the death (or life) of a great person.