Invitation to Ahmadiyyat — Page 126
126 Celestial Signs The Holy Prophet s as also foretold some celestial events. For exam - ple, he prophesied the eclipses of the sun and the moon on specific dates during the month of Ramadan. Stressing the significance of this sign, the Holy Prophet s as said that these two signs have never occurred in support of any Prophet in the past. In the words of the Hadith: ٍ ْلَۃ ي َ ل ِ ل َّ مٰوٰت ِ وَالَْرْض ِ یَنْکَسِف ُ الْقَمَر ُ لَِو َّ ْن ِ لَم ْ تَکُوْنَا مُنْذ ُ خَلْق ِ الس ي لِمَھْدِیِّنَا اٰیَتَ َّ اِن ِ مٰوٰت َّ صْف ِ مِنْہ ُ وَلَم ْ تَکُوْنَا مُنْذ ُ خَلَق َ ہللا ُ الس ِّ مْس ُ فِی الن َّ ن ْ رَمَضَان َ و َ تَنْکَسِف ُ الش ِّ م. 66 َ وَالَْرْض The advent of our Mahdi will be marked by two impor - tant signs. These signs have never appeared since the crea - tion of Heaven and earth. One is the eclipse of the moon on the first of Ramadan, and the other is the eclipse of the sun in the middle of Ramadan, and these two signs have not appeared since the creation of Heaven and Earth. This sign is of great significance in many respects. The first is that it has never appeared for anyone other than the Mahdi. Secondly, this Hadith is found in both Sunni and Shia literature and, there - fore, cannot be labelled as dubious. Thirdly, the signs described in this Hadith are also found in past scriptures with regard to the second coming of the Messiah. It is written in Matthew 24:29: