Musnad Ahmad

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) that during the blessed era of the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), there was a solar eclipse. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up for prayer, so we also stood with him. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood for such a long time that we began to think that perhaps he would not bow (ruku‘). Then he bowed, and while raising his head from ruku‘, it did not seem as if he would do so. When he raised his head from ruku‘, it did not seem as if he would go into prostration (sajdah), but he went into prostration, and it felt as if he would not raise his head from sajdah. Then when he sat up, it seemed as if he would not perform sajdah again, but then he performed the second sajdah, and while raising his head from it, it did not seem as if he would do so. In the second rak‘ah, he did the same. During this, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) kept blowing on the ground, and in the sajdah of the second rak‘ah, he kept saying: “O Lord, will You punish them while I am present among them? O Lord, will You punish us even though we are seeking forgiveness?” After this, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his head, the solar eclipse had ended. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) completed his prayer, and after praising and glorifying Allah, he said: “O people! The sun and the moon are two of the signs of Allah. If either of them is eclipsed, then hasten towards the mosques. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, Paradise was presented before me, and it was brought so close to me that if I wished to take one of its branches, I could have done so. Similarly, Hell was also presented before me, and it was brought so close to me that I began to blow (to extinguish it) out of fear that it might fall upon you. And I saw in Hell a woman from the tribe of Himyar, who was dark-skinned and tall. She was being punished because of a cat which she had tied up; she neither fed it nor gave it water, nor did she let it go so that it could eat the insects of the earth by itself. Whenever that woman moved forward, the same cat would bite her in Hell, and if she moved back, it would bite her from behind. I also saw there a man from Banu Da‘da‘, and I saw a man with a staff, who was leaning on his staff in Hell. This person used to steal the belongings of the pilgrims with his staff, and when the pilgrims found out, he would say, ‘I did not steal it; this thing just got stuck to my staff.’”