then pray.” (1) This is general in meaning. The Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, did not say, for example, “Pray in your mosques.” This shows that even an individual is commanded to perform it. Yet there is no doubt that people gathering together is preferable; indeed, it is best that they pray it in the congregational mosques, because the Prophet, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, performed it in a single mosque and summoned the people to it. Moreover, a larger gathering is generally more conducive to humility and attentiveness of heart, and it is more likely to bring about an answer to supplication.
Thus, it is recommended to perform it in mosques and in homes, but performing it in mosques is better, and in congregational mosques better still.
“If either of the two luminaries is eclipsed: two units of prayer, reciting aloud in the first ...”
His statement, “If either of the two luminaries is eclipsed”: “If” is an adverbial expression connected to “it is recommended”; that is, it is recommended when either of the two luminaries—the sun and the moon—is eclipsed.
His statement, “two units of prayer, reciting aloud in the first ...”: In this sentence, the author, may Allah have mercy on him, explains the manner of the eclipse prayer: it is performed as two units of prayer, with no addition. However, each of these two units contains two bowings.
The phrase “two units of prayer” is in the accusative as a circumstantial qualifier. This is one of the instances in which the circumstantial qualifier is a non-derived noun understood in the sense of a derived one; that is, it is recommended in the form of two units of prayer.
His statement, “reciting aloud in the first”: he states “aloud” without restricting it to the night. This indicates that the sunnah in the eclipse prayer is to recite aloud, whether it occurs at night or during the day. This is indeed the case, based on the hadith of Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, “that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, recited aloud in the eclipse prayer