Makkan Muslims awaiting for the sign of Eclipses
Introduction
One of the signs for the latter day Messiah were the eclipses during the month of Ramadhan, Muslims were eagerly waiting for this heavenly sign to occur.
عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ قَالَ اِنَّ لِمَهْدِيَّنَا آيَتَيْنِ لَمْ تَكُوْنَا مُنْذُ خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ، تَنْكَسِفُ الْقَمَرُ لأَوَّلِ لَيْلَةٍ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ وَ تَنْكَسِفُ الشَّمْسُ فِي النِّصْفِ مِنْهُ وَلَمْ تَكُوْنَا مُنْذُ خَلَقَ اللّٰهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَ الأَرْضَ
Narrated by Muhammad bin Ali: For our Mahdi there are two signs which have never appeared before since the creation of the Heavens and the Earth, namely the Moon will be eclipsed on the first night in Ramadan and the Sun will be eclipsed on the middle of it (middle day). And these signs have not appeared since Allah created the Heavens and the Earth.
[Sunan Dar Qutni Vol 2. p. 419-420 | Hadith 1795]
(Article on Eclipses)
In this article, we will give proof that Muslims were in fact eagerly awaiting for this sign to occur, anti-Ahmadis claim, ‘no one was waiting for the sign of the eclipses’, however, we will show how Muslims in Makkah were in excitement when this sign for Imam Mahdi AS occurred in 1894.
Excitement in Makkah over the Eclipses:
The quote below is taken from a report of Makkah in 1894. The key point here is that Muslims in Makkah understood that these eclipses that occurred in Ramadhan were no ordinary eclipse but a heavenly sign that was prophesied by Muhammed SAW about Imam Mahdi AS.
The report says:
News: Makkah Mu’azzamah May Allah enrich it | Respected Editor Paisa Akhbar, may he be enriched
[Paisa Akhbar (6th April 1894) p.8]
These days there is a strange uproar in Makkah Mu’azzamah. For those people who were awaiting the Imam Mahdi AS, there is a strange and interesting event at hand. There is no Jalsa, gathering, or house that is empty of the mention of the Imam Mahdi’s advent in Ramadhan since it has been established that in this very year in Ramadhan the lunar and solar eclipse will occur in one month. Since then, their expectation has advanced even more, and the obedience of everyone high and low has a new zeal and fervor. Few bold persons have even started using their age-old weapons which were left unused for many years and which started developing rust. I am looking at this scene with great amazement – All knowledge is with Allah. I, at another time – InshAllah – will write something about this topic!”
Conclusion
This event was no ordinary event, it would be absurd to believe that no Muslim was waiting for the sign of the eclipses; on the contrary, this event in 1894 led to an uproar in Makkah!