The scholars agree that the prayer of the eclipses is a sunnah mu'akkadah, a stressed
one, which is to be performed by both men and women. It is best to pray it in congregation
although the congregation is not a condition for it. The people are called to it
by announcing as-salatu jami'ah "prayer in congregation." The majority of the scholars
hold that it is to consist of two rak'at and that in every rak'ah one is to perform
two bowings (ruku') instead of the customary one.
'Aishah narrates: "There was a solar eclipse during the time of the Prophet sallallahu
alehi wasallam and the Prophet went to the mosque, and he stood and made the takbir,
and he put the people in rows behind him, and he made a lengthy recital during the
salah. Next, he made the takbir and made a long ruku', but it was not as long as
the recital. Following that, he raised his head, saying: 'Allah hears him who praises
Him. And to You, our Lord, belongs the praise.' Afterward, he stood and made another
long recital but it was shorter than the first one. Again, he made the takbir and
made a ruku' that was shorter than the first one. Then, again he said: 'Allah hears
him who praises Him. And to You, our Lord, belongs the praise.' After this, he prostrated.
He did the same in the next rak'ah and finished four ruku' and four sujjud. The
sun appeared again before he finished. Finally, he stood and addressed the people
and praised Allah as He deserves it and said: 'The sun and the moon are two signs
from among Allah's signs and there is no eclipse due to someone's death or life.
If you see them occurring, hurry to pray.'" This is related by alBukhari and Muslim.
Bukhari and Muslim also record that Ibn 'Abbas said: "There was a solar eclipse
during the life time of the Prophet sallallahu alehi wasallam and he prayed with
a long standing, similar to what it takes to recite alBaqarah. Then, he made a long
ruku'. After which, he stood and made another long recital but shorter than the
first one. Again he went into ruku', but for a shorter time than in the first one.
Following this, he made sajdah [twice]. Next he made another long standing (qiyam)
which was also not as long as the first. After that, he made another lengthy ruku'
but it was not as long as the first one. Again, he made another long qiyam [and
recital] but it was not as long as the first one. After which, he made another lengthy
ruku' but it was not as long as the previous one. Following this, he went into sajdah
[and so on]. When he had finished, the sun had appeared. He concluded his prayer
and said: 'The sun and the moon are two signs from the signs of Allah, and there
is no eclipse due to the death or life of anyone. If you see it, make remembrance
of Allah.'" Grading these reports, Ibn Abdul Barr says: "These two hadith are the
most authentic reports on this topic."
Ibn al-Qayyim observes: "The authentic, clear, and prepondering sunnah concerning
salatul kasuf is that the ruku' is to be repeated [twice] in every rak'ah. This
is based on the hadith from 'Aishah, Ibn 'Abbas, Jabir, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, 'Abdullah
ibn 'Amr ibn al-'Aas, and Abu Musa alAsh'ari. They all report that the Prophet repeated
the ruku' in one rak'ah. Those who mention the repeating of the ruku' are more in
number, weightier, and closer to the Prophet sallallahu alehi wasallam than those
who do not mention it." This is the opinion of Malik, ash-Shaf'i, and Ahmad.
Abu Hanifah is of the opinion that salatul Kasuf consists of two rak'at, similar
to salatul 'id and jumu'ah, based on the hadith of An-Nu'man ibn Bashir who says:
"The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alehi wasallam prayed the salatul kasuf with
us like one of your prayers. He went into ruku' and performed sajdah, praying two
rak'at by two rak'at, and supplicated to Allah until the sun reappeared clearly
again."
In the hadith from Qabsah al-Hillali, the Prophet said: "If you see that [i.e.,
an eclipse], pray as you pray the obligatory prayer." This is related by Ahmad and
an-Nasa'i.
The reciting of al-Fatihah is obligatory in each rak'ah, and one may recite whatever
one wishes to, after Al-Fatihah. It is allowed to make the recital audible or silent,
but al-Bukhari says: "Audible recital is more proper. "
The prayer of the lunar eclipse is similar to that of the solar eclipse. Al-Hassan
al-Basri reports: "There was a solar eclipse and Ibn 'Abbas, the governor of Basra,
went out and prayed two rak'at with two ruku' in each rak'ah. Then, he mounted his
mount and said: 'I prayed as I have seen the Prophet praying.'" This is related
by ash-Shaf'i in his Musnad.
Al-Bukhari and Muslim record from 'Aishah that the Messenger of Allah said: "The
sun and the moon are two signs from among Allah's signs and there is no eclipse
due to the life or death of anyone. If you see that [an eclipse] supplicate to Allah,
extol His greatness, give charity and pray." They also record from Abu Musa that
there was a solar eclipse and the Prophet said: "If you see something of this nature,
rush to the remembrance of Allah, supplicating Him and asking His forgiveness."
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