Fiqh of Worship: The Eclipse Prayer Tuesday, March 05, 2013 Eclipses are signs from Allah SWT by means of which Allah SWT makes His slavess afraid. Allah SWT says (interpretation of the meaning): And We sent not the signs except to warn, and to make them afraid (of destruction) [al-israa 17:39] 1. There are two types of eclipse: solar eclipse when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun. ( ) and lunar eclipse in which the moon appears darkened as it passes into the earth's shadow ( ). is more frightening because when the sun shines in the daytime and then the light goes because of the eclipse then it is so obvious that everybody can tell. Eclipse is usually not very obvious during the night time. At a time of a solar or lunar eclipse, there is a recommended prayer (salatul-kusuf) that is performed by the Muslim community either in congregation or individually. In one of the Hadith Prophet Muhammad SAW said that the eclipse is one of the signs of Allah s greatness, because the sun and the moon are two signs amongst the signs of Allah SWT and So when you see them, invoke Allah and pray till the eclipse is clear." Ruling of the eclipse prayer: We do it because it is a highly recommended Sunnah ( ). One of the signss of day of judgement is more frequent eclipses, but people take them as celebrations and they gather together to watch these occasions without realizing the reality of these eclipses. Now we know them much before time that the eclipse is going to happen but at the time of Prophet Muhammad SAW, they would only know when they see it and Prophet SAW immediately used to perform salaat for it. It is not like Salaat-e-Istisqa which needs proper 1 http://southernmuslimah.wordpress.com/2008/02/21/islamic-rulings-and-views-on-solarlunar-eclipses/ Page 1
announcement and appointing a time for performing the prayer, the eclipse prayer is performed during the eclipse ( others to perform this prayer upon sighting the eclipse. ) and he used to tell People associate these eclipses with the life or death of people but it has been very clearly mentioned that these are the signs of Allah SWT greatness and associating it with anything is like doing shirk. It is not something to be excited about but we need to ponder upon the greatness of Allah SWT that how He covers one of His great signs with the other; we really need to reflect upon these signs. It can last from minutes to hours, sometimes partial and other times complete. 2 If we look at the first thing in this Hadith we see that the sun and the moon are the two signs of Allah SWT ( ); and then emphasis on that it is not associated with the life and death of anyone ( ). It has been advised in the Hadith that when we see them ( we need to do for four things: ) then 1. We need to be scared from it and we should pray 2. Glorify Allah SWT; look at the Name of Allah SWT mentioned here - Akbar - who else can do this except Allah SWT the Most Big. 3. pray salaat 4. Need to give sadaqa from our sins. for asking forgiveness from Allah SWT The time for Salaat al-kusoof lasts from the beginning of the eclipse ( ) 2 Narrated Al-Mughira bin Shu'ba: Allah's Apostle said, "The sun and the moon are two signs amongst the signs of Allah. They do not eclipse because of someone's death or life. So when you see them, invoke Allah and pray till the eclipse is clear." Narrated Abu Masud: The Prophet said, "The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of the death of someone from the people but they are two signs amongst the signs of Allah. When you see them, stand up and pray." Page 2
until it is over ( ), because the Prophet SAWS said: When you see that, then pray (Agreed upon). According to another Hadith, If you see anything of that, then pray until it is over (Reported by Muslim). Salaat al-kusoof should not be done once the eclipse is over ( ), because the time has gone. If an eclipse ends before one knows about it, one does not have to pray, because the reason for this prayer is no longer there, but we should supplicate and invoke Allah SWT and do a lot of istaghfar ( ). Sometimes people are unaware of the eclipse and they come to know after the eclipse but they pray the eclipse prayer even after the eclipse has been cleared which is incorrect. There is no make-up for this prayer, if it s missed then it s gone ( ). The prayer should be done after witnessing the eclipse either by yourself or some reliable resource, should not just start praying upon hearing it without anyone having witnessed it ( ) because there can be rumors about it without it actually happening. This prayer can be prayed at mosque as well as at home unlike the Eid or Istisqa prayers. Method of performing: 1. the Imam prays two rak ah for the eclipse prayer; 2. the recitation during the prayer is done loudly; 3. In one rak ah there are two rukus and two Surah Fatiha and two Surahs and two sujood. The way in which Salaat al-kusoof is done is to pray two Rak ahs in which Qur an is recited aloud. In the first rak ah, one should recite al-faatihah and a long Surah, then do a long ruku, then raise one s head and say,, (Allah listens to the one who praises Him; our Lord to You be praise) after standing upright, as in other prayers. Then one should again recite al-faatihah and another long Surah, Page 3
shorter than in the first recitation. Then one should do another long ruku shorter than the first, and when raising one s head, say,, (Allah listenss to the one who praises Him; our Lord to You be praise, much good and blessed praise). Then he should do two lengthy sujood, without making the sitting between them too long. Then one should pray the second rak ah like the first, with two long rukus and two long sujood, as he did in the first rak ah. Then he should recite the Tashahhud and say the salaam 3. Its Sunnah characteristics are given below but one should always remember that this prayer is a Sunnah and preferably it should be performed the way Prophet Muhammad SAW performed it but should not make it too tight on yourself or others: 1. The Sunnah is for the prayer to be held in congregation in the masjid, although individuals who cannot reach the congregation may pray alone. Women may attend the congregation or pray at home individually. There is an announcement for the prayer; 2. Make the prayer long, it is Sunnah but if somebody cannot make long because of any reasons then he can make it short too. If the sun starts clearing up then the prayer should be made lighter; 3. the second unit should be shorter than the first one; 4. the people of Qudratullah, about the After the prayer the imam should remind wisdom behind the eclipse and encourage the people for good deeds. 3 This is the description of Salaat al-kusoof as prayed by the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as was reported with a number of isnaad http://southernmuslimah.wordpress.com/2008/02/21/islamic-rulings-and-views-on- solarlunar-eclipses/ Page 4
Solar and lunar eclipses are reminders of the Day of Judgment, when the sun, moon and stars will all lose their light 4. 5. Increased supplication, istaghfar, praying and giving sadaqa, asking for forgiveness for the sins. Other recommended acts during the eclipse are: When one witnesses the eclipse then he should leave all his activities and should proceed towards the mosque and pray the eclipse prayer; If someone enters mosque while the eclipse prayer is already in progress then he should not hurry to join the prayer. The rule is just like the normal prayer in congregation that if the mamoom joins before or during the ruku of first rak ah then it is considered as not missing any rak ah but if joined after the imam has risen from the first ruku then the mamoom has to make up the first rak ah. As there are two rukus in the eclipse prayer so if the mamoom joins before or during the first ruku of the first rak ah then it is ok otherwise he has to make-up for the missed prayer. The eclipse prayer can be offered even during time which is otherwise forbidden for performing prayers. More details about the timing of the prayer will be discussed next week Insha Allah. We ask Allah for His forgiveness and Mercy. Anything that is good from these notes is from Allah. Any mistakes & misrepresentations are my own. I ask Allah for His acceptance of all our good deeds and forgiveness of our sins Ameen. 4 When the sight is dazed, and the moon is buried in darkness, and the sun and moon are joined together: Man will say on that day, Where is the refuge?. (Surat al-qiyamah, the Resurrection) Page 5