The eclipse prayer

Narrated Abu Mas'ud: The prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Verily the sun and the moon are the two signs among the signs of Allah by which He frightens His servants and they do not eclipse on account of the death of any one of the people. So when you see anything about them, observe prayer, supplicate Allah till it is cleared from you"

(Sahih Bukhari, Book of Eclipses, Hadees no.1041)

Narrated Al-Mughira bin Shu`ba: The sun eclipsed in the lifetime of Allah's Apostle on the day when (his son) Ibrahim died. So the people said that the sun had eclipsed because of the death of Ibrahim. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of the death or life (i.e. birth) of someone. When you see the eclipse pray and invoke Allah.

(Sahih Bukhari Book of Eclipses, Hadees no.1043)

Narrated Abu Musa: The sun eclipsed and the Prophet got up, being afraid that it might be the Hour (i.e. Day of Judgment). He went to the Mosque and offered the prayer with the longest Qiyam, bowing and prostration that I had ever seen him doing. Then he said; "These signs which Allah sends do not occur because of the life or death of somebody, but Allah makes Hi\s worshipers afraid by them. So when you see anything thereof, proceed to remember Allah, invoke Him and ask for His forgiveness." 

(Sahih Bukhari, Book of Eclipses, Hadees no.1059)

How to pray Eclipse Prayer (salatul Kusoof):

A] 1.Those who are praying, recite the opening takbeer (takbeerat al-ihram) and the opening supplication ( du'aa' al-istiftaah), then he seeks refuge with Allah.

     2.Then he recites al-Faatihah, followed by a lengthy recitation.

     3.Then he bows, making it lengthy.

     4.Then he rises from bowing and says: Sami'a Allahu liman hamidah, Rabbana wa lakal Hamd(Allah hears those who call upon him; Our Lord, to you by praise)

B] 5.In the same rakah, he again recites Al-Fatihah, followed by another lengthy recitation but it is not as long as the first recitation.

     6.Then he bows again, making it lenghty but not as the first time.

     7.Then he rises from bowing and says: Sami'a Allahu liman hamidah, Rabbana wa lakal Hamd(Allah hears those who call upon him; Our Lord, to you by praise), and stands for a long time.(it can be continued till 5times)

     8.Then he prostrates twice, making each prostration lengthy, and sits for a long time between the two prostrations.

     9.Then he gets up for the secong rakah, and does the same as he did in the first rak'ah, and does the same as he did in the first rak'ah, bowing twice (or till 5 times) and so on, but each action is not as long as in the first. Then he recites the tashahhud and the tasleem.

[see Al-Mughni by Ibn-Qudaamah(3/323); Al-Majmoo' by An-Nawawi(5/48)]

Narrated `Aisha: (the wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him) In the lifetime of the Prophet the sun eclipsed and he went to the Mosque and the people aligned behind him. He said the Takbir (starting the prayer) and prolonged the recitation (from the Qur'an) and then said Takbir and performed a prolonged bowing; then he (lifted his head and) said, Sami allahu liman hamidah. He then did not prostrate but stood up and recited a prolonged recitation which was shorter than the first recitation. He again said Takbir and then bowed a prolonged bowing but shorter than the first one and then said, Sami`a l-lahu Lyman hamidah Rabbana walak-lhamd, and then prostrated and did the same in the second rak`a; thus he completed four bowing and four prostrations. The sun (eclipse) had cleared before he finished the prayer. (After the prayer) he stood up, glorified and praised Allah as He deserved and then said, "The sun and the moon are two of the signs of Allah. They do not eclipse because of the death or the life (i.e. birth) of someone. When you see them make haste for the prayer."

(Sahih Bukhari, Book of Eclipses, Hadees no.1059)

Note:

The eclipse prayer is prescribed when one sees an eclipse, not when one hears news of an eclipse from the astronomers. And 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 of Allah (peace be upon him) connected the command to pray to actual sighting of the eclipse, not to news from an astromer that an eclipse was going to happen, or to its happening in another country.

And the solar or Lunar Eclipse has no side effects on the pregnant women and on her pregnancy.

Jazak Allahu Khairan.

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