How to Pray Salaat al-Kusoof

[bamalli]

How to Pray Salaat al-Kusoof

1. The time for Salaat al-Kusoof lasts from the beginning of the
eclipse until it is over, because the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "When you see that, then pray." (Agreed upon).
According to another hadeeth, "If you see anything of that, then pray until
it is over." (Reported by Muslim).
2. Salaat al-Kusoof should not be done once the eclipse is over,
because the time has gone. If an eclipse ends before one knows about it, one
does not have to pray, because the reason for this prayer is no longer
there.
3. The way in which Salaat al-Kusoof is done is to pray two Rak'ahs in
which Qur'aan is recited aloud, according to the correct one out of the two
scholarly opinions. In the first Rak'ah, one should recite *
al-Faatihah* and a long soorah such as Soorat al-Baqarah or the
equivalent, then do a long rukoo', then raise one's head and say, "*Sami'a
Allaahu liman hamidah, Rabbanaa wa laka'l-hamd* (Allaah listens to the
one who praises Him; our Lord to You be praise)" after standing upright, as
in other prayers. Then one should then recite *al-Faatihah* and
another long soorah, shorter than in the first recitation, equivalent in
length to *Soorat Aal 'Imraan*. Then one should do another long rukoo'
shorter than the first, and when raising one's head, say, "*Sami'a
Allaahu liman hamidah, Rabbanaa wa laka'l-hamd hamdan katheeran tayyiban
mubaarakan fih, mal' al-samawaati wa mal' al-ard wa mal' ma shi'ta min
shay'in ba'd* (Allaah listens to the one who praises Him; our Lord to
You be praise, much good and blessed praise, filling heaven and earth and
whatever You will besides that)." Then he should do two lengthy sujoods,
without making the sitting between them too long. Then one should pray the
second rak'ah like the first, with two long rukoo's and two long sujoods, as
he did in the first rak'ah. Then he should recite the Tashahhud and say the
salaam.
This is the description of Salaat al-Kusoof as prayed by the Messenger
of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as was reported
with a number of isnaads. Some of these reports are in *al-Saheehayn* ,
including the hadeeth narrated by 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with
her): "The sun was eclipsed at the time of the Messenger of Allaah SAWS
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and the Messenger of Allaah
SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went out, stood up and said
*Takbeer* ('Allaahu akbar'), and the people formed rows behind him.
The Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
recited a lengthy recitation and did a lengthy rukoo', then he raised his
head and said, '*Sami'a Allaahu liman hamidah, Rabbanaa wa laka'l-hamd
*.' Then he stood upright and recited another lengthy recitation,
shorter than the first. Then he said 'Allaahu akbar' and did another lengthy
rukoo', shorter than the first. Then he said, '*Sami'a Allaahu liman
hamidah, Rabbanaa wa laka'l-hamd* .' Then he did sujood. Then in the
second rak'ah he did likewise, until he had completed four rukoo's and four
sujoods, and the eclipse was over before he had finished." (Agreed upon).
4. It is sunnah to pray Salaat al-Kusoof in jamaa'ah (congregation) ,
because this is what the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) did, but it is permissible to pray it individually, as with all other
naafil prayers. However, praying it in congregation is better.
5. It is sunnah for the imaam to address the people after the prayer,
and to warn them against negligence and being led astray, and to tell them
to make lots of du'aa' and ask for forgiveness. In *al-Saheeh* it is
narrated from 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) that the Prophet
SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) finished his prayer then
addressed the people and started by praising Allaah then he said, "The sun
and the moon are two of the signs of Allaah, and they do not become eclipsed
for the death or the birth of anyone. If you see that, then call on Allaah,
perform salaah, give charity..."
6. If the prayer ends before the eclipse does, then remember Allaah
(dhikr) and call on Him (du'aa') until the eclipse ends. The prayer should
not be repeated. If the eclipse ends before the prayer, then the prayer
should be completed quickly, but it should not be stopped or cut off
abruptly, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): *"and
render not vain your deeds" [Muhammad 47:33]*. The prayer should be at
the time of the eclipse, because the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "... until it (the eclipse) is over..." and he also
said, "... until what you are going through is over ..."

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said: "Sometimes eclipses last for a long time,
and sometimes for a short time, depending on how much of the sun or moon is
eclipsed. The entire sun or moon may be eclipsed, or only half of it, or
one-third. If it is a total eclipse, then the prayer should last long enough
for all of *al-Baqarah* or something of similar length to be recited in the
first rak'ah, and in the next rak'ah a shorter recitation is made. There are
saheeh ahaadeeth narrated from the Prophet SAWS (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him), as we have mentioned, and it is prescribed to shorten
the prayer if the reason for it [i.e., the eclipse] is no longer there. So
if it is known that the eclipse will not last for long, or if it started to
get less, one should still pray, but the prayer should be shortened. This is
the opinion of the majority of scholars, because this prayer is prescribed
for a specific reason, and if the reason is no longer there and the eclipse
is over, one should not pray."