In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.

My wife reminded me of tonight’s Lunar Eclipse this afternoon so I decided to dig up an old post about the eclipse prayer or Salaat-ul-Kusoof.

The prayer itself is described in the following Hadith:

Narrated `Aisha: In the lifetime of Allah’s Apostle (p.b.u.h) the sun eclipsed, so he led the people in prayer, and stood up and performed a long Qiyam, then bowed for a long while. He stood up again and performed a long Qiyam but this time the period of standing was shorter than the first. He bowed again for a long time but shorter than the first one, then he prostrated and prolonged the prostration. He did the same in the second rak`a as he did in the first and then finished the prayer; by then the sun (eclipse) had cleared. He delivered the Khutba (sermon) and after praising and glorifying Allah he said, “The sun and the moon are two signs against the signs of Allah; they do not eclipse on the death or life of anyone. So when you see the eclipse, remember Allah and say Takbir, pray and give Sadaqa.” Bukhari, 2.154.

The Hadith explains the actual prayer which I have summarised below but it also clarifies the fact that solar and lunar eclipses have nothing to do with deaths, births or other events so we should avoid superstition and rather fear Allah at these times and invoke prayer. Allah’s signs are found throughout nature and though science may provide a logical explanation of these events, as believers, we acknowledge the Almighty and bear witness to His signs. While the sight itself is quite amazing, why not take advantage of the occasion by following a sunnah of our beloved Prophet (p.b.u.h) and performing Dhikr (remembrance) of Allah.

Here is a summary of the prayer, also known as Salaat-ul-Kusoof:

1. Stand up for prayer as normal
2. Recite Qur’an as normal
3. Perform a prolonged Ruku (Bow) with Dua/Supplication
4. Stand up and recite Qur’an again
5. Perform a 2nd prolonged Ruku (Bow) but not as long as the first one
6. Stand up and then proceed into Sujood (prostration) and prolong the Sujood with Dua/Supplication
7. Sit up straight as you normally would between prostrations
8. Go back into sujood again and prolong it but not as long as the first prostration
9. Repeat the above steps for the second Raka’at or second unit of prayer

The moon rises at 5:27 PM over Brisbane tonight with the eclipse ending at 7:33 PM. Observe and pray In Sha Allah.