(Salatu-l Kusouf wa-l Khusouf)
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[STYLE NOTE: Transliterated versions of Quranic and Hadith Arabic are ugly and can be misleading. There is no substitute for the words properly written in the Arabic script: this is, after all, the definitive and authentic quotation as has been commonly accepted by all throughout the ages. However, as there are no entirely satisfactory translations, it has seemed to me that a combination of English translation and Latin script transliteration provides the least unsatisfactory way of indicating what I feel the quoted statement means.]
This Prayer is considered wajibby certain 'ulama, such as Abu 'Awanah and Abu Hanifah.
Al Mughirah ibn Shu'bah said:
"The sun was eclipsed on the day Ibrahim the son of the Prophet, salla-Llahu 'alayhi wa sallam, died. So the people said, 'The sun has been eclipsed because of the death of Ibrahim'. So then the Messenger of Allah said, 'The sun and the moon are two of the signs of Allah. Allah may alarm His servants by the pair of them; neither is eclipsed for the death of one them or for for his life. So if you witness an event then pray and supplicate until what is with you has been eclipsed (until it has moved away)." (Bukhari and Muslim; 'Umdatu-l Ahkam, 2:137)
[inkasafati-sh shamsu yawma maata Ibraaheemu-bnu-n Nabiyyi salla-Llahu 'alayhi wa sallam. fa qaala-n naasu 'inkasafati-shamsu li mawti Ibraaheema'. fa qaala Rasoulu-Llahi 'Inna-sh shamsa wa-l qamara aayataani min aayaati-Llahi yukhawwifu-Llahu bihima 'ibaadihi la yankasifaani li mawti ahadin aw li hayaatihi. fa idha ra'aytum shay'an fa sallou wa-d'ou hatta yankasifa ma bikum.' (hatta yanjaliya).]
It is related by A'ishah, who said,
"The sun was eclipsed during the Messenger's mission, so the Messenger of Allah went out to the mosque; then he stood and made takbir, and the people arranged themselves in rows behind him. And the Messenger of Allah recited a long passage, then he made takbir and made a long rukou', and then he raised his head and said 'Sami'a-Llahu liman hamidah. Rabbana laka-l Hamd'. Then he stood and recited a long passage which was nearly as long as the first recitation. Then he made takbir and made a long rukou', which was nearly as long as the first rukou'. Then he said, 'Sami'a-Llahu liman hamidah. Rabbana wa laka-l Hamd', and then he prostrated and lengthened the sujoud; then he did much as he'd done in the first rak'ah, until he'd completed four rukou's and four sujouds. The sun moved on before he'd turned [his head in salam, i.e. at the end of the prayer - DR-O]. Then he addressed the people, giving praise to Allah and commending Him, then he said, 'The sun and the moon are two of the signs of Allah. They are not eclipsed for the death of anyone nor for his life. So if you witness that, then supplicate Allah, make takbirs, pray, and give sadaqah. By Allah, if you knew what I know, you would laugh little and cry a lot'." (Bukhari and Muslim; 'Umdatu-l Ahkam, 2:138)
[inna-sh shamsa khusifat 'ala 'ahdi Rasouli-Llahi fa kharaja Rasoulu-Llahi ila-l masjidi fa qaama wa kabbara wa saffa-n naasu wara'ahu fa-qtaraa'a Rasoulu-Llahi qiraa'atan taweelatan. thumma kabbara fa raka'a rukou'an taweelan. thumma rafa'a ra'sahu fa qaala 'Sami'a-Llahu liman hamidahu Rabbana laka-l hamdu'. thumma qaama fa-qtara'a qira'atan taweelatan hiya adna mina-l qira'ati-l oula. thumma kabbara fa raka'a rukou'an taweelan huwa adna mina-r rukou'i-l oula. thumma qaala 'Sami'a-Llahu liman hamidahu Rabbana wa laka-l hamdu'. thumma sajada fa ataala-s sujouda. thumma fa'ala bi-r rak'ati-l ukhra mithla dhalika hatta-stakmala arba'a raka'aatin wa arba'a sajadaatin wa-njalati-sh shamsu qabla an yansarifa fa khataba-n naasa fa hamida-Llaha wa athna 'alayhi. thumma qaala 'Inna-sh shamsa wa-l qamara aayataani min aayaati-Llahi la yukhsafaani li mawti ahadin wa la li hayaatihi. fa idha ra'aytum dhalika fa-d'ou-Llaha wa kabbirou wa sallou wa tasaddaqou. wa-Llahi law ta'lamouna ma a'lamu la dahiktum qaleelan wa la bakiytum katheera'.]
It is related by Abu Musa al-Ash'ari that the Messenger
of Allah said:
"These signs which were sent by Allah are not for the death of anyone or for his life, but Allah may He be Exalted and Glorified sends them to alarm His servants with them. So if you witness one of these events, flee to Remembrance of Allah (dhikru-Llah), and supplicate Him (du'a) and crave His Forgiveness (istighfar)." (Bukhari and Muslim; Al-Nail, 4:25)
[inna haadhihi-l aayaati-llatee yursiluha-Llahu laa takounu li mawti ahadin aw li hayaatihi walaakinna-Llahu 'azza wa jalla yursiluha yukhawwifu biha 'ibaadahu fa idha ra'aytum minha shay'an fa-fza'ou ila dhikri-Llahi wa du'aa'ihi wa-stighfaarihi.]
It is narrated by Al Hasan al-Basri, who said:
"The moon was eclipsed and Ibn 'Abbas was Amir over Basrah, so he went out and prayed two rak'ahs. In each rak'ah he did two rukou's, then he mounted up and said, 'I have only prayed as I saw the Prophet pray'." (Al-Nail, 4:23)
[khusifa-l qamaru wa-bnu 'Abbaasin ameerun 'ala-l Basrati fa kharaja fa salla bina rak'atayni fi kulli rak'atin rukou'aani thumma rakiba wa qaala 'Innama sallaytu kama ra'aytu-n Nabiyya yusalliy'.]
From the above ahadith, we can deduce that whenever a solar or a lunar eclipse takes place, we are required to hurry to the mosque and make salatu-l kusouf (for a solar eclipse) or salatu-l khusouf (for a lunar eclipse), make dhikr, make supplications and give sadaqah. Both types of prayer (solar and lunar eclipse prayers) are done with two rak'ahs, totalling four rukou's and four sujouds.
Because of the plurality of methods for this prayer, we may opt for any of these. Nevertheless, the preferential method is to do two rak'ahs with four rukou's as this is the one that appears in the transmission from Bukhari and Muslim.
The first is to allow all the ahadith, as indicating that eclipses happened at several different times during the time of Rasoulu-Llah salla-Llahu 'alayhi wa sallam. This is the position of Ishaq [ibn Rahawayh], and has been supported by Ibn Hazm, and by Ibn Rushd (in Bidayatu-l Mujtahid, 1:167).
The second is to weigh critically these ahadith, seeing which are stronger and which less likely. Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani (in Fat'hu-l Bari, 2:362) adopts this position.
It is summarised by the editor of Al-Hadiyyah that al-Shafi'i, Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and al-Bukhari determined that the ahadith which seem to specify more than two rukou's in one rak'ah are erroneous through a fault of the transmitter. They are unwilling to say that eclipses happened frequently during the time of the Messenger. The eclipse during which the Messenger prayed was the one that occurred at the time of the death of Ibrahim, his son. Because an eclipse only happened once, then it is necessary to use a sound transmission: that is the report from A'ishah, which stipulates two rukou's in one rak'ah (A'ishah participated in the prayer).
In short:
According to Ishaq, all the methods are valid: according to al-Hafiz, only the method explicated by A'ishah is valid.
According to Ibnu-l Qayyim (in Zadu-l Ma'ad, 1:178), 'The Messenger of Allah only prayed the Eclipse Prayer once, that is on the day of Ibrahim's death. Before then it had not been sanctioned'.
According to Imam al-Nawawi (in Al-Majmou'), the length of the first standing is as long as Al Baqarah. The length of the second standing is as long as the length of Aal 'Imran. The length of the third standing is as long as 150 ayat, and the length of the fourth standing is as long as 100 ayat. But it can nevertheless be fulfilled by reciting one Fatihah in the first standing. The length of the first rukou' is 100 ayat from Suratu-l Baqarah. The length of the second rukou' is 80 ayat. The length of the third is 70 ayat and the length of the fourth is 50 ayat from Suratu-l Baqarah.
wa-Llahu a'lamu bi-s sawabi wa-t tawfeequ mina-Llahi wa-l hidayah