The eclipse prayer is prescribed when one sees an eclipse, not when one hears news ofan eclipse from the astronomers

Should we offer the eclipse prayer (salaat al-kusoof) based on the announcements of astronomers published in the newspaper? If the eclipse takes place in another country should we pray the eclipse prayeror is it necessary to see the eclipse with the nakedeye?.
Praise be to Allaah.
There are saheeh ahaadeeth according to which the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined offering the eclipse prayerand reciting dhikr and du’aa’s when the Muslims see an eclipse of the sun or the moon. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The sun and the moon are two of the signs of Allaah and they do not become eclipsed for the death or birth of anyone. But Allaah sends them to make His slaves fear (Him), so if you see that, then pray and make du’aa’ until it is over.” According to another version he said: “So if you see that, then hasten to remember Allaah and call upon Him and seek His forgiveness.” So he (peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him) connected the command to pray, make du’aa’, remember Allaah and pray for forgiveness to actual sighting of the eclipse and not to the reports of the astronomers.
What all the Muslims must do is adhere to the Sunnah and act in accordance with it, and to beware of everything thatis contrary to it.
Hence we know that those who offer the eclipse prayer on the basisof astronomers’ reports are making a mistake andgoing against the Sunnah.
It should also be noted that it is not prescribed for the people who live in a country where the eclipse is not happening to offer the prayer, because the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) connected the command to pray etc to actual sighting of the eclipse, notto news from astronomers that an eclipse was going to happen, or to its happening in another country. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad) gives you, take it; and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it)”
[al-Hashr 59:7]
“Indeed in the Messenger of Allaah (Muhammad) you have a good exampleto follow”
[al-Ahzaab 33:21]
When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) offered the eclipse prayer, when that happened in Madeenah and the people saw it, Allaah said (interpretationof the meaning):
“And let those who oppose the Messenger’s (Muhammad’s) commandment (i.e. his Sunnah legal ways, orders, acts of worship, statements) (among the sects) beware, lest some Fitnah (disbelief, trials, afflictions, earthquakes, killing, overpowered by a tyrant) should befall themor a painful torment be inflicted on them”
[al-Noor 24:63]
It is known that he was the most knowledgeable and most sincere of people, and that he was the one who conveyed the rulings from Allaah. If it was prescribed to offer the eclipse prayer on the basis of astronomers’ reports, or when an eclipse occurs in another region that is only seen by the local inhabitants, then he would have said so and would have guided his ummah to do that. Since he did not say that, rather he said the opposite, and he told his ummah to base their actions on actual sighting of the eclipse, we know from that that this prayer is only prescribed for those who see the eclipse and in whose land it occurs. And Allaah is the Source of strength.
Kitaab Majmoo’ Fataawawa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi’ah li Samaahat al-Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Baaz ,/ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en

If an eclipse is a natural phenomenon, then whyshould we feel scared and pray?

It is now known that eclipse is nothing but a normal process that occurs after a regular interval (that can be known) of the moon coming between the sun& the earth. Then why was it that Holy Prophet(pbuh) used to pray at that time, though it didn't cause any danger!?
Praise be to Allaah.
When the sun was eclipsed at the time of theMessenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), he commanded someone to call out “al-salaatu jaami’ah (prayer is about to begin)”, and he led the people in prayer. Then he addressed them and explained to them the reason for the eclipse, anddeclared their jaahili beliefs to be null and void.He explained to them what they should do, suchas praying and making du’aa’ and giving in charity. He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The sun and the moon are two of the signs of Allaah; they do not become eclipsed for the death or life of anyone. If you see that then call upon Allaah and magnify Him, and pray, and give in charity.” The Muslims did not know when an eclipse would happen, but when it did happen, they would hasten to do what Allaah had prescribed, such as praying etc.
When an eclipse happened, they would be afraid that is was a warning of impending disaster, so they would turn to Allaah and pray to Him to ward off that which they feared. When astronomy and the calculations of the movements of the sun and moon became well known in later times, and it became known that theexperts could know whenan eclipse was likely to happen, the scholars (‘ulamaa’) pointed out that this did not change the ruling, and that the Muslims still had to do what they were commanded to do at the time of an eclipse, even if they knew about it in advance. But it is not prescribed to concern ourselves with the matterof predicting eclipses, because that is not what Allaah and His Messenger commanded us to do. Thescholars also explained that an eclipse may be a sign or a cause of something bad happeningto people. When the questioner says that eclipses do not cause hrm,she is speaking without knowledge and objecting to the sharee’ah of Allaah.People do not necessarily know of the events whichAllaah causes to happen at the time of an eclipse, and some people may know about that whilst others do not. It could be that because of the Muslims’ prayers, Allaah wards off bad things which are known only to Him. The Muslim must submit to the ruling of Allaah and act in accordance with His sharee’ah, and have faith in His wisdom, because Heis the All-Knowing, All-Wise, may He be glorified and exalted.
(Written by Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahmaan al-Barraak).
Solar and lunar eclipses are two of the signs of Allaah with which He scares His slaves and reminds them of some of the things which will happen on the Day of Resurrection, when the sun will be wound round and will lose its light and be overthrown and the stars will fall (cf. al-Takweer 81:1), and the sight will be dazed, the moon will be eclipsed andthe sun and moon will be joined together (by going into one another, or folded up, or deprived of their light) (al-Qiyaamah 75:8-9). This is why Muslims should be alarmed by eclipses. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to fear Allaah very much, and oneday he came out in an agitated state, thinking that the Hour had begun, when the sun was eclipsed during his lifetime… This is indicativeof the great extent to which he kept the Hour inmind and feared it. We, on the other hand, have become negligent and most people no longer think of eclipses as anything other than a natural phenomenon which they go out to watch with special glasses, carrying cameras. They limit themselves to the worldly scientific explanation without understanding the reminder of the Hereafter which it brings. This is oneof the signs of hard-heartedness and a lack of concern about the matters of the Hereafter. It reflects a lack of fear of the onset of the Hour, andignorance of the aims of sharee’ah and the reports that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to feel fear when these eclipses happened. The Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) used to stand to pray the eclipse prayer,because they believed that if indeed the Hour had come, they would notthen be counted negligent of their prayer, and if this eclipse was nothing to do with the Hour, then they would not lose anything by praying, for they would have earned a great reward. We ask Allaah to make us among those who fear Him and who are afraid of the Hour. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad./ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en

Is it prescribed to pray when an earthquake happens or there are strong winds?

If there is an earthquake or other signs in some land, is it prescribed for itspeople to pray ?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Yes, it is mustahabb to pray when one of these signs happens, such as eclipses, earthquakes, violent storms, persistent and frightening winds, and destructive floods, because it is narrated in a saheeh report from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he prayed when an earthquake struck Basra, offering a prayer like the eclipse prayer. Then he said: This is how prayers should be offered at the time of these signs.
Narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah, 2/472; ‘Abd ar-Razzaaq, 3/101; al-Bayhaqi in as-Sunan al-Kubra, 3/343. And he said: This is proven from Ibn ‘Abbaas. End quote. Classed as saheeh by al-Haafiz in Fath al-Baari, 2/521
Al-Kasaani (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It is mustahabb to pray atall times of alarm, such as when there are strong winds, earthquakes, darkness, and ongoing rain, because they are causes of alarm and fear.
End quote from Badaa’i‘ as-Sanaa’i‘, 1/282
It says in Manh al-Jaleel Sharh Mukhtasar Khaleel (1/333): It is recommended to pray when there is an earthquake or similar frightening signs such as epidemics and plagues, individually or in congregation, two rak‘ahsor more. End quote.
The Hanbalis limited the recommendation of prayer to earthquakes, because that was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas. As for other signs, it is not prescribed to pray at those times.
See: Kashshaaf al-Qinaa‘, 2/66
Ash-Shaafa‘i (may Allah have mercy on him) was of the view that it is prescribed to pray at times of these signs individually, but it is not prescribed to pray in congregation on such occasions.
See: al-Majmoo‘, 5/61, by an-Nawawi.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah havemercy on him) was of the view that it is prescribed to pray in the event of all signs. He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The eclipse prayer may be offered on all occasions when there is a sign, such as earthquakes and other events. This is the view of Abu Haneefah and was narrated from Ahmad. It isalso the view among our companions and others.
End Quote from al-Fataawa al-Kubra, 5/358
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy onhim) mentioned three opinions concerning the matter, the third of which is that this prayer may be offered at the time of any frightening sign. Then he (may Allah have mercy onhim) said: This last view isthe view favoured by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah havemercy on him), and it is a very strong view. This is the more correct view.
End quote from ash-Sharhal-Mumti‘, 5/93
And Allah knows best./ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en

3b] The sword of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) “al-Battaar” and his relics in museums

3b]
Allaah, may He be glorified, knows best about them. But with regard to some of them, we cannot hide our suspicion concerning them
Al-Athaar al-Nabawiyyah (p. 78)
And on p. 82 he said – after quoting reports of some of the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) seeking blessing from the hairs of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him):
There is no sound evidence to prove that any of the hairs that werein the hands of the peoplecould be attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), because the hairs that the people havewere some of that which had been shared out among the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them), but it is difficult to tell what is genuine from what is not.
End quote.
4 – Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
It is essential to note that we believe it is permissible to seek blessing from the relics of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and we do notdenounce it, contrary to what our opponents think, but this seeking of blessing is subject to certain conditions, including the following:
Correct faith that is acceptable to Allaah. If a person is not a Muslim who believes sincerely in Islam, Allaah will never grant him any good by hisseeking blessing in this manner.
It is also stipulated that the one who wants to seek blessing have found one of the genuine relics of the Prophet (peace andblessings of Allaah be upon him).
We know that relics such as his garments, hair, etc. have been lost and it is not possible for anyone toprove with certainty that any of them exist.
Al-Tawassul (1/145).
5 – Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him) said in an article entitled Ta’qeeb ‘ala Mulaahazaat al-Shaykh Muhammad al-Majdhoob ibn Mustafa:
With regard to things thatare separated from the body (of the Prophet) (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or things that were in contact with his body, blessing may be sought from them if they existed during his life and after his death if they have survived, but in most cases they did not survive after his death. As for the claims made by some charlatans nowadays that some of his hair etc still exists, these are false claims for which there is no evidence…
These relics do not exist now, because so much time has passed that it is most likely that they havedisintegrated or been lost,and there is no evidence to support the claims made that some of them still exist.
Al-Bayaan li Akhta’ Ba’d al-Kuttaab (p. 154).
6 – Under the title Hal yoojad Shay’un min Athaar al-Rasool sall-Allaah ‘alayhiwa sallam fi’l-‘Asr al-haadir (Does any relic of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) exist at present?) Dr. Naasir ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmaan al-Jadee’describes types of seekingblessing and the rulings on them. On pp. 256-260 he explains that it is uncertain that any of the relics that exist currently can truly be attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and he states that many of the relics of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) have disappeared through the ages due to loss, wars andturmoil.
End quote.
And Allaah knows best.