Some scholars held that it is obligatory, based on the Prophet’s saying, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him: “When you see that, then pray.”

Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said in his book The Prayer: “It is a strong view” (1)—that is, the view that it is obligatory. And he was right, may Allah have mercy on him, for the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, commanded it, came out in alarm, stated that it was a warning, delivered a weighty sermon, and was shown Paradise and Hell. All these great indications suggest that it is obligatory. For if we were to say that it is not obligatory, and that people incur no sin if they abandon it when an eclipse occurs, despite this command and emphasis from the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, then there would be something problematic in this. How can it be a warning, yet we remain unconcerned, as though it were an ordinary occurrence? Where, then, is the fear?

A warning calls for fear, and fear calls for complying with the command of the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him.

Those who held that it is a sunnah cited the following evidence:

1. The well-known hadith concerning the man who came asking about Islam. The Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, mentioned to him the five daily prayers. The man asked, “Am I required to perform any besides them?” He replied, “No, unless you perform voluntary prayers” (2).

2. Near the end of his life, in the tenth year, the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, sent Mu‘adh to Yemen and said: “Inform them that Allah has prescribed for them five prayers” (3). He mentioned no others.