‘Salat-al-Kasuf’: Prayer of Eclipse

 

'…He created the sun, moon, and stars to be subservient to His command; all creation and command belong to Him. Exalted be God, Lord of all the worlds!’ (7:55)

‘It is He who created night and day, the sun and the moon, each floating in its orbit.’ (21:34)

The sun and the moon follow their calculated courses’. (55:6)

'The night, the day, the sun, the moon, are only a few of His signs. Do not bow down in worship to the sun or the moon, but bow down to God who created them, if it is truly Him that you worship.’—(41:38)

'The sun and the moon are two signs of the Almighty. Solar and lunar eclipses do not occur because of the life or death of someone; in fact, the Almighty warns His people through such phenomena. So, when you see them, beseech the Almighty, celebrate His sovereignty, offer the prayer and spend in His way’. 

---Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa)

Recently a Muslim brother from India contacted Imam-Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Al Siddique Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius requesting guidance on Islamic prayer to be offered in times of solar or lunar eclipses. We are reproducing below the clear guidance given by Hazrat Saheb (aba) on the occasion for the benefit of all truth seekers in relation to the religious prayer to be offered in times of solar or lunar eclipse:

 

‘Concerning the Eclipse Prayer (Salat-al Kusuf) it is a unique kind of two-rakah prayer, in which the first Rakah consists of two Qiyam (standing position). After saying 'Allahu Akbar' like in a normal prayer cycle, one should always start with Surah Al-Fatiha and then recite the longest Surah that is known to him.

 

Afterwards, he goes into Ruku and stands up again (but does not go into Sajda). After standing up, he should again recite the Surah Al-Fatiha and another shorter Surah known to him.

 

He then performs a second Ruku and then stands up (like in normal Salah saying 'Sami Allah... Rabbana wa lakal hamd...'). It is only then that he goes into his FIRST SAJDA (Prostration). He does two prolonged Sajda, and stands up again for his SECOND RAKAH, repeating the same Salah process as in the first Rakah (with two Qiyam and two Rukus), and afterwards doing his second Sajda, and coming to sitting position to recite his Tashahhud (Attayaat...) and other Tasbih and Duahs, and completing the Salah by saying 'Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah' on his right side, then on his left side.

 

Bear in mind that in every Salah, Surah Al-Fatiha is compulsory as it is the Opening Chapter of the Quran and prayer without Surah Al-Fatiha is incomplete and does not count. Surah Al-Fatiha is the lifeline of each Salah. It is the key to the acceptance of Salah by Allah. So Surah Al-Fatiha is a must. Then like specifically mentioned in the Hadiths of our beloved prophet Muhammad (pbuh), especially in Kusuf Salah, in the first Qiyam of the first Rakah, the longest Surah known to the worshipper should be recited, then later on, shorter Surahs (after the recitation of Al-Fatiha).’