to be classed as knowledge of the unseen, nor does it belong to the kind of information transmitted by soothsayers—whose lies outweigh their occasional accuracy—for that is speech without firm knowledge, and we have been forbidden to approach them or ask them anything.
Although it is possible to calculate the exact time of a solar or lunar eclipse, the particular person who relays the information may or may not know how to compute it correctly. When the statements of the expert calculators coincide, they rarely err. Even so, their report carries no legal weight, because the eclipse prayer is not to be performed unless the phenomenon is actually observed. If someone deems the report likely to be true, or at least possible, and therefore intends to perform the eclipse prayer at the predicted time and prepares himself to witness it, this falls under the heading of hastening to obey and worship Allah. All Muslims agree on the legitimacy of praying during an eclipse, and the Prophetic traditions that establish it are mass-transmitted.
Hadith One
From ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her):
The sun was eclipsed during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He sent a herald to proclaim, “al-ṣalāt jāmiʿah (the prayer is about to begin, come together).” The people gathered, he stepped forward, pronounced the opening takbīr, and prayed four bows in two units, with four prostrations.
Lexical notes
khasafat (it was eclipsed): both pronunciations are permissible—opening the khāʾ and sīn, or rounding the khāʾ and lowering the sīn.
al-ṣalāt jāmiʿah: the first word is in the accusative as an exhortation, and the second is in the accusative as a circumstantial qualifier. Other grammatical analyses exist, but this is the preferred one.
Overall meaning
The sun was eclipsed in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He dispatched a caller through the streets and marketplaces, announcing “al-ṣalāt jāmiʿah” so that the people might gather, pray, implore Allah to forgive and have mercy on them, and to preserve His manifest and hidden favors. They assembled in his mosque without an iqāmah. He pronounced the takbīr and prayed two units, each containing two bows and two prostrations, as will be detailed in ʿĀʾishah’s narration.
Points derived from the hadith
- A solar eclipse occurred during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).
- It is recommended to offer the prayer at the time of an eclipse; al-Nawawī transmitted consensus that it is an established sunnah.