The Book of Eclipses

Qutaybah narrated to us; he said: Hammad narrated to us, from Yunus, from Al-Hasan, from Abu Bakrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The sun and the moon are two of Allah Most High’s signs. They do not undergo an eclipse because of anyone’s death or birth. Rather, Allah, Mighty and Sublime, frightens His servants through them.”

Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak narrated to us; he said: Abu Hisham—al-Mughirah ibn Salamah—narrated to us; he said: Wuhaib narrated to us; he said: Abu Mas‘ud al-Jurayri narrated to us, from Hayyan ibn ‘Umayr, who said: ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Samurah narrated to us: While I was shooting arrows in Medina, the sun was eclipsed. I gathered my arrows and said, “I will go and see what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) does during the solar eclipse.” I came to him from behind, while he was in the mosque. He began glorifying Allah, proclaiming His greatness, and supplicating until the eclipse cleared. Then he stood and prayed two rak‘ahs with four prostrations.

Muhammad ibn Salamah narrated to us; he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, from ‘Amr ibn al-Harith, that ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Qasim narrated to him, from his father, from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: “The sun and the moon are not eclipsed because of anyone’s death or life. Rather, they are two of Allah Most High’s signs. When you see them, pray.”

Ya‘qub ibn Ibrahim narrated to us; he said: Yahya narrated to us, from Isma‘il, who said: Qays narrated to me, from Abu Mas‘ud, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The sun and the moon are not eclipsed because of anyone’s death. Rather, they are two of Allah, Mighty and Sublime’s signs. When you see them, pray.”

Muhammad ibn Kamil al-Marwazi narrated to us, from Hushaym, from Yunus, from Al-Hasan, from Abu Bakrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The sun and the moon are two of Allah, Mighty and Sublime’s signs. They are not eclipsed because of anyone’s death or life. When you see them, pray until the eclipse clears.”

‘Amr ibn ‘Ali and Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-A‘la narrated to us; they said: Khalid narrated to us; he said: Ash‘ath narrated to us, from Al-Hasan, from Abu Bakrah, who said: We were sitting with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when the sun was eclipsed. He sprang up, dragging his garment, and prayed two rak‘ahs until the eclipse cleared.

‘Amr ibn ‘Uthman ibn Sa‘id narrated to me; he said: Al-Walid narrated to us, from Al-Awza‘i, from Al-Zuhri, from ‘Urwah, from ‘A’ishah, who said: During the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) time, the sun was eclipsed. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered a caller to announce, “The prayer is to be held in congregation.” The people gathered and formed rows, and he led them in a prayer consisting of four bowings in two rak‘ahs and four prostrations.

Muhammad ibn Khalid ibn Khalli narrated to us; he said: Bishr ibn Shu‘ayb narrated to us, from his father, from Al-Zuhri, who said: ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr informed me that ‘A’ishah, the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), said: The sun was eclipsed during the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) lifetime. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went out to the mosque, stood, and proclaimed Allah’s greatness. The people formed rows behind him, and he completed four bowings and four prostrations. The sun cleared before he departed.

Ya‘qub ibn Ibrahim narrated to us, from Isma‘il ibn ‘Ulayyah, who said: Sufyan al-Thawri narrated to us, from Habib ibn Abi Thabit, from Tawus, from Ibn ‘Abbas, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed during a solar eclipse with eight bowings and four prostrations. And from ‘Ata’, a similar report.

Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna narrated to us, from Yahya, from Sufyan, who said: Habib ibn Abi Thabit narrated to us, from Tawus, from Ibn ‘Abbas, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he prayed during an eclipse. He recited, then bowed; then recited, then bowed; then recited, then bowed; then recited, then bowed; then prostrated. He performed the other rak‘ah in the same way.

‘Amr ibn ‘Uthman ibn Sa‘id narrated to us; he said: Al-Walid narrated to us, from Ibn Numayr—‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Numayr—from Al-Zuhri, from Kathir ibn ‘Abbas. [Another chain:] ‘Amr ibn ‘Uthman narrated to me; he said: Al-Walid narrated to us, from Al-Awza‘i, from Al-Zuhri, who said: Kathir ibn ‘Abbas informed me, from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed on the day the sun was eclipsed, performing four bowings in two rak‘ahs and four prostrations.

Ya‘qub ibn Ibrahim narrated to us; he said: Ibn ‘Ulayyah narrated to us; he said: Ibn Jurayj informed me, from ‘Ata’, who said: I heard ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Umayr narrating. He said: A person whom I trust narrated to me—I thought he meant ‘A’ishah—that she said: During the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) time, the sun was eclipsed. He led the people in prayer and stood for a very long time, then bowed, stood, bowed, stood, and bowed again. He prayed two rak‘ahs, with three bowings in each rak‘ah; after the third bowing, he prostrated. That day, some men fainted, and water was poured over them because of how long they had stood. When he bowed, he said, “Allah is greatest”; when he raised his head, he said, “Allah listens to whoever praises Him.” He did not depart until the sun had cleared. Then he stood, praised and extolled Allah, and said: “The sun and the moon are not eclipsed because of anyone’s death or life. They are two of Allah’s signs, through which He instills fear in you. When they are eclipsed, hasten to the remembrance of Allah, Mighty and Sublime, until they clear.”

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim narrated to us; he said: Mu‘adh ibn Hisham narrated to us; he said: My father narrated to me, from Qatadah, concerning the prayer at the signs, from ‘Ata’, from ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Umayr, from ‘A’ishah, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with six bowings and four prostrations. I asked Mu‘adh, “Is this from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?” He said, “There is no doubt or uncertainty about it.”

Muhammad ibn Salamah narrated to us, from Ibn Wahb, from Yunus, from Ibn Shihab, who said: ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr informed me, from ‘A’ishah, who said: The sun was eclipsed during the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) lifetime. He stood and proclaimed Allah’s greatness, and the people formed rows behind him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recited at length, then proclaimed Allah’s greatness and bowed for a long time. He raised his head and said, “Allah listens to whoever praises Him. Our Lord, to You belongs all praise.” He then stood and recited at length, though less than his first recitation. He proclaimed Allah’s greatness and bowed for a long time, though less than his first bowing. Then he said, “Allah listens to whoever praises Him. Our Lord, to You belongs all praise,” and prostrated. He did the same in the other rak‘ah, completing four bowings and four prostrations. The sun cleared before he departed. Then he stood and addressed the people, praising Allah, Mighty and Sublime, as He deserves, and said: “The sun and the moon are two of Allah Most High’s signs. They are not eclipsed because of anyone’s death or life. When you see them, pray until you are relieved of the eclipse.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) also said: “From where I stand now, I have seen everything you were promised. When you saw me move forward, I wanted to take a cluster of fruit from Paradise. And I saw Hell: parts of it were crushing one another. When you saw me step back, I had seen that. And I saw Ibn Luhayy there; he was the one who set loose the sa’ibah.”

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim narrated to us; he said: Al-Walid ibn Muslim narrated to us, from Al-Awza‘i, from Al-Zuhri, from ‘Urwah, from ‘A’ishah, who said: During the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) time, the sun was eclipsed. The call, “The prayer is to be held in congregation,” was made, and the people gathered. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) led them in a prayer consisting of four bowings in two rak‘ahs and four prostrations.

Qutaybah narrated to us, from Malik, from Hisham ibn ‘Urwah, from his father, from ‘A’ishah, who said: The sun was eclipsed during the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) time, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) led the people in prayer. He stood for a long time, then bowed for a long time. He then stood for a long time, though less than the first standing, and bowed for a long time, though less than the first bowing. Then he rose and prostrated. He did the same in the other rak‘ah. He departed after the sun had cleared, then addressed the people, praising and extolling Allah, and said: “The sun and the moon are two of Allah’s signs; they are not eclipsed because of anyone’s death or life. When you see that, call upon Allah, Mighty and Sublime, proclaim His greatness, and give charity.” Then he said: “O community of Muhammad! No one has a greater sense of protective jealousy than Allah, Mighty and Sublime, when His male servant commits zina or His female servant commits zina. O community of Muhammad! By Allah, if you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much.”

Muhammad ibn Salamah narrated to us, from Ibn Wahb, from ‘Amr ibn al-Harith, from Yahya ibn Sa‘id, that ‘Amrah told him that ‘A’ishah told her: A Jewish woman came to her and said, “May Allah protect you from the punishment of the grave.” ‘A’ishah said, “O Messenger of Allah, are people punished in their graves?” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sought refuge with Allah. ‘A’ishah said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) went out, and the sun was eclipsed. We went to the room, and some women gathered with us. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came to us; it was midmorning. He stood for a long time, then bowed for a long time. He raised his head and stood for less time than his first standing, then bowed for less time than his first bowing, and prostrated. He then stood for the second rak‘ah and did the same, except that his bowing and standing were shorter than in the first rak‘ah. Then he prostrated, and the sun cleared. When he finished, he sat on the pulpit and said, among other things: “People will be tested in their graves like the trial of the Dajjal.” ‘A’ishah said: After that, we used to hear him seeking refuge from the punishment of the grave.

‘Amr ibn ‘Ali narrated to us; he said: Yahya ibn Sa‘id narrated to us—Yahya ibn Sa‘id al-Ansari; he said: I heard ‘Amrah say: I heard ‘A’ishah say: A Jewish woman came to me asking, and said, “May Allah protect you from the punishment of the grave.” When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came, I said, “O Messenger of Allah, are people punished in their graves?” He sought refuge with Allah. He then mounted a conveyance (the text adds, “that is”), and the sun was eclipsed while I was among the apartments with some women. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) came from his mount and went to his prayer place, where he led the people in prayer. He stood for a long time, then bowed for a long time. He raised his head and stood for a long time, then bowed for a long time. He raised his head and stood for a long time, then prostrated for a long time. He then stood for less time than his first standing, bowed for less time than his first bowing, raised his head and stood for less time than his first standing, then bowed for less time than his first bowing. He raised his head and stood for less time than his first standing. Thus, there were four bowings and four prostrations. The sun cleared, and he said: “You will be tested in your graves like the trial of the Dajjal.” ‘A’ishah said: After that, I heard him seeking refuge from the punishment of the grave.

‘Abdah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahim narrated to us; he said: Ibn ‘Uyaynah informed us, from Yahya ibn Sa‘id, from ‘Amrah, from ‘A’ishah, that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed during a solar eclipse in the shaded area at Zamzam, with four bowings and four prostrations.

Abu Dawud narrated to us; he said: Abu ‘Ali al-Hanafi narrated to us; he said: Hisham, the companion of al-Dastawa’i, narrated to us, from Abu al-Zubayr, from Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah, who said: During the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) time, the sun was eclipsed on an intensely hot day. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) led his Companions in prayer and stood for so long that they began to collapse. Then he bowed for a long time, rose and stood for a long time, bowed for a long time, and rose and stood for a long time. Then he prostrated twice. He stood and did something similar, moving forward and then moving back. There were four bowings and four prostrations. People used to say that the sun and moon were eclipsed only when one of their great men died. They are two of Allah’s signs, which He shows you; when an eclipse occurs, pray until it clears.