Chapter: What Was Shown To The Prophet Of Paradise And Hell During The Eclipse Prayer

The sun eclipsed on one extremely hot day during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prayed along with his Companions. He prolonged his qiyam (standing posture in prayer) till they (his Companions) began to fall down. He then observed a long ruku'. He raised his head (and stood up for long) and then observed a long ruku'. He then raised (his head and stood up) for a long time and then made two prostrations. He then stood up and did like this and thus he observed four ruku's and four prostrations (in two rak'ahs) and then said : All these things were brought to me in which you will be made to enter. Paradise was brought to me till (I was so close to it) that if I (had intended) to pluck a bunch (of grapes) out of it. I would have got it , or he (the Holy Prophet) said : I intended to get a bunch (out of that) but my hand could not reach it. Hell was also brought to me and I saw in it a woman belonging to the tribe of Israel who was tormented for a cat whom she had tied , but did not give it food nor set it free to eat the creatures of the earth ; and I saw Abu Thumama 'Amr b. Malik who was dragging his intestines in Hell. They (the Arabs) used to say that the sun and the moon do not eclipse but on the death of some great person ; but (in reality) both these (the sun and the moon) are among the signs of Allah which are shown to you ; so when there is an eclipse , observe prayer till it (the sun or the moon) brightens.

This hadith has been narrated by Hisham with the same chain of transmitters except this" I saw a dark woman with a tail stature and loud voice , " but he made no mention of" from among Bani Israel"

till he reached near the women) He then moved forward and the people also moved forward along with him till he stood at his (original) place (of worship). He then completed the prayer as it was required to complete and the sun brightened and he said: O people! verily the sun and the moon are among the signs of Allah and they do not eclipse at the death of anyone among people (Abu Bakr said: On the death of any human being). So when you see anything like it (of the nature of eclipse), pray till it is bright. There is nothing which you have been promised (in the next world) but I have seen it in this prayer of mine. Hell was brought to me as you saw me moving back on account of fear lest its heat might affect me; and I saw the owner of the curved staff who dragged his intestines in the fire, and he used to steal (the belongings) of the pilgrims with his curved staff. If he (the owner of the staff) became aware, he would say: It got (accidentally) entangled in my curved staff, but if he was unaware of that, he would take that away. I also saw in it (in Hell) the owner of a cat whom she had tied and did not feed her nor set her free so that she could eat the creatures of the earth, till the cat died of starvation. Paradise was brought to me, and it was on that occasion that you saw me moving forward till I stood at my place (of worship). I stretched my hand as I wanted to catch hold of its fruits so that you may see them. Then I thought of not doing it. Nothing which you have been promised was there that I did not see in this prayer of mine.

The sun eclipsed during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). As I went to 'A'isha who was busy in prayer. I said: What is the matter with the people that they are praying (a special prayer)? She ('A'isha) pointed towards the sky with her head. I said: Is it (an unusual) sign? She said: Yes. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stood up for prayer for such a long time that I was about to faint. I caught hold of a waterskin lying by my side, and began to pour water over my head, or (began to sprinkle water) on my face. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then finished and the sun had brightened. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) then addressed the people, (after) praising Allah and lauding Him, and then said: There was no such thing as I did not see earlier, but I saw it at this very place of mine. I ever saw Paradise and Hell. It was also revealed to me that you would be tried in the graves, as you would he tried something like the turmoil of the Dajjal. Asma' said: I do not know which word he actually used (qariban or mithl), and each one of you would be brought and it would be said: What is your knowledge about this man? If the person is a believer, (Asma' said: I do not know whether it was the word al-Mu'min or al-Mu'qin) he would say: He is Muhammad and he is the Messenger of Allah. He brought to us the clear signs and right guidance. So we responded and obeyed him. (He would repeat this three times), and it would be said to him: You should go to sleep. We already knew that you are a believer in him. So the pious man would go to sleep. So far as the hypocrite or sceptic is concerned (Asma' said: I do not know which word was that: al-Munafiq (hypocrite) or al-Murtad (doubtful) he would say: I do not know. I only uttered whatever I heard people say.

I came to 'A'isha when the people were standing (in prayer) and she was also praying. I said : What is this excitement of the people for ? And the rest of the hadith was narrated like one

'Urwa said : Do not say Kasafat-ush-Shamsu , but say Khasafat-ush-Shamsu.

The Apostle of Allah (ﷺ) was one day (i. e. on the day when the sun eclipsed) so perturbed that he (in haste) took hold of the outer garment (of a female member of his family) and it was later on that his (own) cloak was sent to him. He stood in prayer along with people for such a long time that if a man came he did not realise that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had observed ruku', as it has been narrated about ruku' in connection with long qiyam.

" It was for a long duration that he (the Holy Prophet) observed qiyam and he would then observe ruku'. (The narrator also added) I (Asma') looked at a woman who was older than I, and at another who was weaker than I.

The sun eclipsed during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) ; so he felt perturbed and he, by mistake, took hold of the outer garment of a woman till he was given his own cloak. After this I satisfied my need and then came and entered the mosque. I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) standing in prayer. I stood along with him. He prolonged his qiyam till I wished to sit down. Then I cast a glance towards an old woman. So I said: She is older than I. I, therefore, kept standing. He (the Holy Prophet) then observed ruku', and prolonged his ruku'. He then raised his head. He then prolonged his qiyam to such an extent that if a person happened to come he would have thought that he had not observed the ruku'.

There was an eclipse of the sun during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). The Messenger of Allah, (ﷺ) prayed accompanied by the people. He stood for a long time, about as long as it would take to recite Surah al-Baqara; then he bowed for a long time; then he raised his head and stood for a long time, but it was less than the first qiyam. He then bowed for a long time but for a shorter while than the first. He then prostrated and then stood for a long time, but it was less than the first qiyam. He then bowed for a long time, but it was less than the first bowing. He then raised (his head) and stood for a long time, but it was less than the first qiyam. He then bowed for a long time but it was less than the first bowing. He then observed prostration, and then he finished, and the sun had cleared (by that time). He (the Holy Prophet) then said: The sun and moon are two signs from the signs of Allah. These two do not eclipse on account of the death of anyone or on account of the birth of anyone. So when you see that, remember Allah. They (his Companions) said: Messenger of Allah, we saw you reach out to something, while you were standing here, then we saw you restrain yourself. He said: I saw Paradise and reached out to a bunch of its grapes; and had I taken it you would have eaten of it as long as the world endured. I saw Hell also. No such (abominable) sight have I ever seen as that which I saw today; and I observed that most of its inhabitants were women. They said: Messenger of Allah, on what account is it so? He said: For their ingratitude or disbelief (bi-kufraihinna). It was said: Do they disbelieve in Allah? He said: (Not for their disbelief in God) but for their ingratitude to their husbands and ingratitude to kindness. If you were to treat one of them kindly for ever, but if she later saw anything (displeasing) in you, she would say: I have never seen any good in you.

" then we saw you keeping aloof (back)."