Fath al-Rabbani

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: On the day when the son of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Ibrahim (may Allah be pleased with him), passed away during the Prophetic era, the sun was eclipsed. The people said: Surely, the sun has lost its light because of the death of Ibrahim. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up and led the people in prayer, performing four prostrations (i.e., two rak‘ahs) with six bowings (ruku‘). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said Allahu Akbar and recited a long recitation, then bowed for as long as he had stood, then raised his head and recited again, but this recitation was shorter than the first, then bowed for as long as he had stood, then raised his head and began reciting again, this recitation being shorter than the second, then bowed for as long as the previous standing, then raised his head and went down for prostration and performed two prostrations. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up and, before prostrating, performed three bowings as before, each bowing being longer than the following one, but each bowing was equal in length to the standing before it. (It also happened that) during this prayer, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) moved backward and the rows moved back with him, then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) moved forward and stood in his place and the rows also moved forward, thus the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) completed the prayer and by then the sun had become clear. (After finishing the prayer) the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: O people! Surely, the sun and the moon are two signs among the signs of Allah Almighty; they do not lose their light because of anyone’s death. When you see such an occurrence, then pray until the sun becomes clear. In this prayer, I saw everything that you have been promised. The Fire was brought near me; this happened when you saw me move backward. I became afraid that its heat might reach me, and at that time I said: O Lord! (As of now) I am still among them. I saw the man with the staff, dragging his intestines in the Fire; he used to steal from the pilgrims with his staff. If his theft was discovered, he would say: This thing just got caught on my staff, and if it was not discovered, he would take it away. I also saw the woman with the cat; she had tied up the cat, neither feeding it herself nor letting it go so it could eat the insects and creatures of the earth, until it died of hunger. Paradise was also brought near me; at that time you saw me move forward, until I stood in my place. Then I stretched out my hand because I wanted to pluck its fruit so that you could see it, but then it was made clear to me that I should not do so.