How is the eclipse prayer (salat al-kusuf) performed?

How it is announced

There is no call to prayer and no second call for it. Instead the announcer calls out, "الصلاة جامعة" — "the prayer is gathering" — repeated as many times as it takes for people to hear. Shaykh Ibn Baz and Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen both describe this, and Ibn Uthaymeen notes that three repetitions is the norm, with more added as the situation requires.

It is best prayed in the main congregational mosque, since the Prophet ﷺ gathered the people in one mosque. If outlying mosques have elderly or weak worshippers who cannot travel, praying it in their own mosque is acceptable.

The steps, in order

1. Make the opening takbir and the opening supplication, then seek refuge, then recite al-Fatihah aloud.
2. Recite a long surah — al-Baqarah or its like in length. The length is set by how long the eclipse lasts: if the eclipse is total, the Prophet ﷺ recited at that length.
3. Bow a long bowing, glorifying Allah in it.
4. Rise and say "سمع الله لمن حمده، ربنا ولك الحمد" — then remain standing.
5. Recite al-Fatihah again, then a surah shorter than the first.
6. Bow a second time, shorter than the first bowing.
7. Rise, saying the same words, then go into two long prostrations, without lengthening the sitting between them.
8. Stand for the second unit and do exactly as you did in the first — but everything in it is shorter than its counterpart in the first unit.
9. Recite the tashahhud, the prayer on the Prophet ﷺ, and supplication, then give the salaam.

The whole prayer is therefore two units, but four bowings and four prostrations. Ibn Qudamah sets out this description in al-Mughni, and it is the form the Hanbali books give.

What the Prophet ﷺ did

The evidence is the narration of Aishah رضي الله عنها, who described the Prophet ﷺ praying it and said:

"He completed four bowings and four prostrations, and the sun cleared before he finished."— Sahih al-Bukhari 1046

Ibn Hajar's summary of the same event, and the narration of Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه, agree on this number. Ibn Abbas's version adds that the Prophet ﷺ then addressed the people and told them that the sun and moon are two signs of Allah, not eclipsed for anyone's death or life, and that when they see it they should hasten to prayer.

What is obligatory and what is recommended

If the eclipse clears during the prayer

You finish the prayer lightly, because the Prophet ﷺ said:

"So pray and supplicate until what has befallen you is lifted."— Sahih al-Bukhari 1040, from Abu Bakrah

If the prayer is finished and the eclipse has not yet cleared, the people do not repeat the prayer. They occupy themselves with remembrance of Allah, supplication and seeking forgiveness until it clears. This is the position of Ibn Baz and the Hanbali books.

Other ways it may be prayed

The scholars record that the prayer is valid with a different number of bowings. Al-Bahuti states that praying it as an ordinary voluntary prayer — two units with one bowing each — is valid, and that three, four or five bowings per unit is also good, since that has been narrated. Ibn Qudamah and the author of the Muwatta' report that some of the Companions and Successors prayed it with three bowings. The four-bowing form remains the most complete.

When it is not prayed

The prayer is tied to actually seeing the eclipse, not to a calculated prediction. Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen is explicit: even if astronomers know an eclipse will occur, the prayer is not offered until the light is visibly broken. If the eclipse is slight and the light is not visibly diminished, no prayer is due. And because it is a prayer tied to a cause, it is not made up once the cause has passed.

Key takeaways

• The eclipse prayer is two units, each with two standings, two recitations, two bowings and two prostrations — four bowings and four prostrations in all.
• It is prayed in congregation with the recitation aloud, and everything in the second unit is shorter than its counterpart in the first.
• It is announced with "الصلاة جامعة", not with the call to prayer or the second call.
• It begins when the eclipse appears and ends when it clears; if it clears mid-prayer you finish lightly, and if it clears after you finish you do not repeat it.
• Alongside the prayer, the sunnah is to increase in remembrance, supplication, seeking forgiveness, charity and freeing slaves.

Further reading

• Ibn Qudamah, al-Mughni — the section on the eclipse prayer
• al-Bahuti, al-Rawd al-Murbi' — the chapter on the eclipse prayer
• Shaykh Ibn Baz, Majmu' al-Fatawa — his answer on the description of the eclipse prayer

And Allah knows best.