A full lunar eclipse is expected this Sunday (May 15, 2022) and will be visible from across North and South America, plus parts of Europe and Africa.
The Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم said: “The sun and the moon are two signs from the signs of Allaah. They do not eclipse for the death of anyone neither their life (i.e. birth). Allaah uses these to strike fear into His slaves. So when you see them offer the prayer and supplicate until the eclipse passes away.” If someone establishes that an eclipse is present then he should pray the Eclipse Prayer (Salaatul Khusoof), whether he has to pray it individually or in congregation and similarly whether it is a man or a woman. It is performed as described in the Shareeâah (Legislation). (Source)
I caught the last end of a beneficial khutbah from Masjid al Hidaayah that went over the characteristics of the Eclipse Prayer. I summarized what I learned, but please refer to the resources below the summarization as they contain greater detail.
The eclipse prayer is 2 rakaat. It is performed aloud.
1st Rakah:
- Recite Suratul Fatihah and other recitations
- Make rukoo
- Come back up and recite Suratul Fatihah again along with other recitations
- Make rukoo again
- Make 2 sajdahs as usual
Salat-ul-Kusuf (Prayer on a solar eclipse) and Salat-ul-Khusuf (Prayer on a lunar eclipse) - characteristics of the eclipse prayer (number of rakaat, manner) - AbdurRahman.org
The Prophet’s Eclipse Prayer Described & Some Common Questions Concerning it - this gives a very detailed, step-by-step description of the prayer as well as some other beneficial points of benefit.
The Prophet’s (Sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) EclipsePrayer Described (PDF)
