Q. Could you please explain whether it is true that the solar and lunar eclipse could have a very harmful effect on pregnant women or their unborn children. Back home, a pregnant woman is told to observe a very strict system, such as staying in a dark room, not doing any housework, or eating, although she may drink water. She cannot use a knife or scissors, etc.
M. Wangde
A. All this is superstition which has nothing to do with Islam. The Prophet (peace be upon him) says that the eclipse is a phenomenon that God has created. It does not happen for any human being’s birth or death. He has taught us to offer a certain prayer during the eclipse, which is very special in its form and length. This prayer is two rak’ahs but each rak’ah doubles up on the number of standing up to recite the Qur’an and the bowing position, i.e. ruku’, and the recitation of the Qur’an in each standing up position should be long, as should be the glorification of God when we bow and when prostrating ourselves. This prayer is strongly recommended to both men and women, whether pregnant or not. Nothing of the restrictions you have mentioned applies. It is all stupid superstition.
Atoning for Sins
Q. A person who committed a sinful act feels very ashamed of himself, thinking always about the way he would have to face God on the Day of Judgment. He wonders what he should do in order to atone for what he did.
M. Salman Khan
A. The fact that this person thinks in this way proves that he has good consciousness of what he did and what he should do. It tells us that he has regretted what he did and he does not wish to do it again. This tells in his favor. Sinful actions are of two types: the first carry mandatory punishment which is specified either in the Qur’an or in the Sunnah; and the second has no specified punishment. The first type include four certain offences, but many scholars include two or three more, so as to make the total seven offences at most.
The four are adultery, theft, accusing chaste women of adultery and highway robbery. The other three are theft, waging war against the Muslim state and apostasy. No other offence carries a specified punishment, except for murder which carries the capital punishment, but the immediate relatives of the victim may, if they choose, pardon the offender.
Even in the case of offences that carry mandatory punishment, Islam prefers that the offender follows the alternative course, which is to repent and make amends. The Prophet says: “If you do any of these offences and are duly punished for it in this life, the punishment atones for it. If you keep it between you and God, then it is up to God to either forgive or punish you on the Day of Resurrection.” This means that repentance is the key to what one should do after committing any sin. Repentance means acknowledgement of one’s error, genuine regret for having committed it and a firm resolve not to do it again. If one truly repents of one’s sins and prays to God for forgiveness, then God accepts one’s repentance. He has promised that and God’s promises always come true.
We have to add here that if the sinful action a person commits involves something due to other people, he should restore to them what is rightfully theirs. Thus a person who commits theft should combine his repentance with returning what he has stolen. A person who slanders another in front of a group of people should contact those people and put the record straight to them, speaking well of the person whom he had slandered.
The reader has told me of the offense the person concerned committed. The advice to that person is to genuinely repent and seek God’s forgiveness. There is no need for the action the reader suggests, because it does not prove anything. He only needs to be certain of not committing the same action again, and to do as much of good works as he can.
— Arab News Islam 13 October 2003
