كتاب صلاة الكسوفThe Eclipse Prayer

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from his

father that A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and

grant him peace, said, "There was an eclipse of the sun in the time of

the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and

the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, led

the people in prayer. He stood, and did so for a long time. Then he

went into ruku, and made the ruku long. Then he stood again, and did

so for a long time, though not as long as the first time. Then he went

into ruku, and made the ruku long, though not as long as thefirst

time. Then he rose, and went down into sajda. He then did the same in

the second raka, and by the time he had finished the sun had appeared.

He then gave a khutba to the people, in which he praised Allah and

then said, 'The sun and the moon are two of Allah's signs. They do not

eclipse for anyone's death nor for anyone's life. When you see an

eclipse, call on Allah and say, "Allah is greater" and give sadaqa.'

Then he said, 'O community of Muhammad! ByAllah, there is no-one more

jealous than Allah of a male or female slave of his who commits

adultery. O community of Muhammad! By Allah, if you knew what I knew,

you would laugh little and weep much'."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Zayd ibn Aslam from Ata ibn

Yasar that Abdullah ibn Abbas said, "There was an eclipse of the sun

and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,

prayed, and the people prayed with him. He stood for a long time,

nearly as long as (it takes to recite) Surat al-Baqara (Sura 2), and

then went into ruku for a long time. Then he rose and stood for a long

time, though less than the first time.Then he went into ruku for a

long time, though less than the first time. Then he went down into

sajda. Then he stood for a long time, though less than the first time.

Then he went into ruku for a long time, though less than the first

time. Then he rose and stood for a long time, though less than the

firsttime. Then he went into ruku for a long time, though less than

the first time. Then he went down into sajda, and by the time he had

finished the sun had appeared. Then he said, 'The sun and the moon are

two of Allah's signs. They do not eclipse for anyone's death nor for

anyone's life. When you see an eclipse, remember Allah.' They said,

'Messenger of Allah, we saw you reach out for something while you were

standing here and then we saw you withdraw.' He said, 'I saw the

Garden and I reached out for a bunch of grapes from it, and if I had

taken it you would have been able to eat from it for as long as this

world lasted. Then I saw the Fire - and I have never seen anything

more hideous than what I saw today - and I saw that most of its

people were women.' They said, 'Why, Messenger of Allah?' He said,

'Because of their ungratefulness (kufr).' Someone said, 'Are they

ungrateful toAllah?' He said, 'They are ungrateful to their husbands

and they are ungrateful for good behaviour (towards them) . Even if

you were to behave well towards one of them for a whole lifetime and

then she were to see you do something (that she did not like) she

would say that she had never seen anything good from you.' "

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said from 'Amra

bint Abd ar-Rahman from A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah

bless him and grant him peace, that a jewish woman came to beg from

her and said, "May Allah give you refuge from the punishment of the

grave." So A'isha asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him

and grant him peace, "Are people punished in their graves?", and the

Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, took

refuge in Allah from that. Then one morning the Messenger of Allah,

may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went out on a journey and

there was an eclipse of the sun, and he returned in the late morning

and passed through his apartments. Then he stood and prayed, and the

people stood behind him. He stood for a long time, and then went into

ruku for a long time. Then he rose and stood for a long time, though

less than the first time, and then went into ruku for a long time,

though less than the first time. Then he rose, and went down into

sajda. Then he stood for a long time, though less than the time

before, and then went into ruku for a long time, though less than the

time before. Then he rose and stood for a long time, though less than

the time before, and then went into ruku for a long time, though less

than the time before. Then he rose, and went down into sajda. When he

had finished he said what Allah willed him to say, and then he told

them to seek protection for themselves from the punishment of the

grave."

Yahya related to me from Malik from Hisham ibn Urwa from Fatima

bint al Mundhir that Asma bint Abi Bakr as-Siddiq said, "I went to

A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him

peace, during an eclipse of the sun, and everybody was standing in

prayer, and she too was standing praying. I said, 'What is everybody

doing?' She pointed towards the sky with her hand and said, 'Glory be

to Allah.' I said, 'A sign?' She nodded 'Yes' with her head."

She continued, "I stood until I had almost fainted, and I began to

pour water over my head. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him

and grant him peace, praised Allah and spoke well of Him, and then

said, 'There is nothing which I had previously not seen beforehand

that I have not now seen while standing - even the Garden and the

Fire. It has been revealed to me that you will be tried in your graves

with a trial, like, or near to, the trial of the Dajjal (I do not know

which one Asma said). Every one of you will have someone who comes to

him and asks him, 'What do you know about this man?' A mumin, or one

who has certainty (muqin) (I do not know which one Asma said), will

say, 'He is Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and

grant him peace, who came to us with clear proofs and guidance, and we

answered and believed and followed.' He will then be told, 'Sleep in a

good state. We know now that you were a mumin.' A hypocrite, however,

or one who has doubts (l do not know which one Asma said), will say,

'I do not know, I heard everybody saying something and I said it.' "