- It is prescribed to gather for the eclipse prayer so that the worshippers may humble themselves in supplication, hasten to repent, and seek forgiveness, for such events are brought about by sins.
- No adhan is given for this prayer; rather the call is simply: “al-ṣalāt jāmiʿah” (“Come together for prayer”).
- The eclipse prayer consists of four bows and four prostrations; its detailed manner will be explained, Allah willing.
Hadith Two
From Abū Masʿūd, ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir al-Anṣārī (may Allah be pleased with him):
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The sun and the moon are two of Allah’s signs by which He frightens His servants. They are not eclipsed because of the life or death of anyone. When you see something of either of them eclipsed, pray and supplicate until the distress is removed from you.”
Overall meaning
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained that the sun and the moon are signs pointing to Allah’s power and wisdom, and that any alteration in their normal order is not caused by the birth or death of important people, as the people of ignorance claimed. Rather, it occurs to alarm the servants so that they renew repentance and return to Allah. Therefore he directed them to rush to prayer and supplication until the eclipse passes. Allah’s management of His creation is replete with secrets and wisdom.
Points derived from the hadith
- The legitimacy of praying and supplicating during a solar or lunar eclipse as a means of turning back to Allah.
- The prayer ends when the eclipse clears; if the prayer finishes first, the worshippers should continue in supplication until it is gone, for there is no report requiring the prayer to be repeated.
- The apparent sense of the hadith is that the prayer is performed even if the eclipse occurs during a time when prayer is normally prohibited, and this is the correct view, for it is one of the acts tied to a specific cause and may therefore be performed whenever that cause is present. The earlier disagreement over this and similar prayers has been mentioned in the “Chapter on Prayer Times.”
- The wisdom behind an eclipse is to instill fear and warn of Allah’s punishment, to shake hearts lulled by heedlessness, awaken them, give people a foretaste of what will occur on the Day of Resurrection, and to show that the innocent may suffer because of the sinner so that the sinner may take heed of his sin.