Bukhari

Hadith Commentary:
That is, the Sunnah was that in the eclipse prayer (Salat al-Kusuf), there should be two bowings (ruku) and two standings (qiyam) in each unit (rak‘ah). However, Abdullah ibn Zubayr radi Allahu anhu performed only one bowing and one standing in each unit, as in the morning prayer (Salat al-Fajr). This was his mistake; he erred and acted contrary to the method of the Sunnah.

Regarding Abdur Rahman ibn Numayr, people have criticized him, although Zuhri and others have declared him trustworthy (thiqa), but Yahya ibn Ma‘in has called him weak (da‘if). Therefore, Imam Bukhari, in order to remove the weakness of this narration, has stated that Abdur Rahman has been corroborated (mutaba‘ah) by Sulayman ibn Kathir and Sufyan ibn Husayn as well. Through corroboration, a hadith becomes strong.

Hafiz has said that besides them, ‘Uqayl and Ishaq ibn Rashid have also corroborated Abdur Rahman ibn Numayr.

The narration of Sulayman ibn Kathir has been connected (wasl) by Imam Ahmad rahimahullah, and the narration of Sufyan ibn Husayn by Tirmidhi and Tahawi, the narration of ‘Uqayl also by Tahawi rahimahullah, and the narration of Ishaq ibn Rashid by Dar Qutni (Mawlana Waheed al-Zaman, may Allah have mercy on him).

وقد ورد الجهر فیھا عن علي مرفوعا أخرجه ابن خزیمة وغیرہ وبه قال صاحبا أبي حنیفة وأحمد وإسحاق وابن خزیمة وابن المنذر وغیرھما من الشافعیة وابن العربي۔
(فتح الباري)

That is, regarding reciting aloud (jahr) in the eclipse prayer, it has been narrated from Ali radi Allahu anhu both as a marfu‘ (attributed to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and mawquf (as his own statement) by Ibn Khuzaymah and others. Both disciples of Imam Abu Hanifah rahimahullah, Imam Muhammad and Imam Abu Yusuf, are also of this opinion, as are Ahmad, Ishaq, Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn al-‘Arabi, and others among the Shafi‘is, who are all proponents of reciting aloud.

And Allah knows best.

Hadith of Aisha radi Allahu anha:
Regarding the narration “The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam recited aloud in the eclipse prayer,” Mawlana Ubaydullah Sahib Shaykh al-Hadith rahimahullah says:

This is a clear text that the recitation of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam in the solar eclipse prayer was aloud, not silent. This indicates that the Sunnah in the eclipse prayer is to recite aloud, not silently. Supporting this is also the hadith of Asma’ in Bukhari. Al-Zayla‘i in Nasb al-Rayah (vol. 2, p. 232), Hafiz in al-Dirayah (p. 137), Ibn al-Humam in Fath al-Qadir, and al-‘Ayni in al-Binayah have written:

And for Bukhari, from the hadith of Asma’ bint Abi Bakr, she said:
“The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam recited aloud in the eclipse prayer.” End quote. Supporting this also is what Ibn Khuzaymah and Tahawi have narrated from Ali radi Allahu anhu, both marfu‘ and mawquf, regarding reciting aloud in the eclipse prayer. Tahawi, after narrating the hadith from Ali radi Allahu anhu mawquf, said:

If the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam had not recited aloud when Ali prayed with him, then Ali would not have recited aloud either, because he knew it was the Sunnah and did not abandon reciting aloud. And Allah knows best.

(Mir‘at, vol. 2, p. 375)

That is, this hadith is a clear text that in the solar eclipse prayer, the recitation of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was aloud, not silent, and this is evidence that reciting aloud in the eclipse prayer is Sunnah, not silent recitation. The hadith of Asma’ is also evidence for this.

Al-Zayla‘i in his book Nasb al-Rayah, vol. 2, p. 232, Hafiz in al-Dirayah, p. 137, Ibn al-Humam in Fath al-Qadir, and al-‘Ayni in al-Nihayah have written that for Imam Bukhari, the hadith of Asma’ bint Abi Bakr is also evidence, in which she states that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam recited aloud in the eclipse prayer. In Ibn Khuzaymah and Tahawi as well, there is evidence from Ali radi Allahu anhu, both marfu‘ and mawquf, regarding reciting aloud in the eclipse prayer.

After mentioning this narration of Ali radi Allahu anhu, Imam Tahawi rahimahullah said that when Ali radi Allahu anhu performed the eclipse prayer with the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, if the Prophet had not recited aloud, then Ali would not have recited aloud in his own prayer. He certainly knew that reciting aloud was Sunnah, so he did not abandon it and performed the prayer with recitation aloud, in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

Some of the earlier scholars have differed on this matter, but according to the stronger evidences, preference is given to reciting aloud:

وقال في السيل الجرار:
رواية الجهر أصح وأكثر، وراوي الجهر مثبت وهو مقدم على النافي - انتهى. وسيأتي شيء من الكلام فيه في شرح حديث سمرة. وتأول بعض الحنفية حديث عائشة بأنه - صلى الله عليه وسلم - جهر بآية أو آيتين. قال في البدائع:
نحمل ذلك على أنه جهر ببعضها اتفاقاً، كما روي أن النبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم - كان يسمع الآية والآيتين في صلاة الظهر أحياناً - انتهى. وهذا تأويل باطل؛ لأن عائشة كانت تصلي في حجرتها قريباً من القبلة، وكذا أختها أسماء، ومن كان كذلك لا يخفى عليه قراءة النبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم -، فلو كانت قراءته في صلاة الكسوف سراً وكان يجهر بآية وآيتين أحياناً، كما فعل كذلك في صلاة الظهر، لما عبرت عن ذلك بأنه كان يجهر بالقراءة في صلاة الكسوف، كما لم يقل أحد ممن روى قراءته في صلاة الظهر أنه جهر فيها بالقراءة۔

The referenced statement in Sayl al-Jarrar is that the narration of reciting aloud is more authentic and more numerous, and the narrator affirming recitation aloud is, as a principle, given precedence over the one who negates it. Some of the Hanafis have interpreted the hadith of Aisha that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam recited aloud only a verse or two, as he sometimes did in the Zuhr prayer. Thus, in the hadith of Aisha, “aloud” is taken to mean this. However, this interpretation is completely invalid, because Aisha and her sister Asma’ used to pray in their chambers near the qiblah, and for such people, the recitation of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam could not be hidden. So, if his recitation in the eclipse prayer had been silent, and he had only occasionally recited a verse or two aloud as in Zuhr, then Aisha radi Allahu anha and Asma’ radi Allahu anha would not have described it as reciting aloud in the eclipse prayer, just as no one who narrated his recitation in Zuhr prayer has described it as reciting aloud.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
Some individuals, based on the word "khusuf" (lunar eclipse), have taken the position that the recitation was done aloud during the lunar eclipse, whereas in one narration it is mentioned that the recitation aloud was observed during the solar eclipse. In any case, recitation should be done aloud during an eclipse.

(2)
The corroboration (mutaba‘at) of Sulayman bin Kathir has been narrated with a connected chain in Musnad Abu Dawud Tayalisi, with the wording that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) recited aloud in the prayer of the solar eclipse. The corroboration of Sufyan bin Husayn has been narrated with a connected chain by Imam Tirmidhi and Allamah Tahawi, in which it is explicitly stated that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) recited aloud in the prayer of kusuf (eclipse). From Ali (radi Allahu anhu) as well, both marfu‘ (attributed to the Prophet) and mawquf (attributed to the Companion) narrations regarding recitation aloud have been reported. Since this prayer is formally announced, and then a sermon (khutbah) is also delivered, therefore, just as in the Eid prayer, it is recommended (mustahabb) to recite aloud in it. (Fath al-Bari: 2/709, 710) And Allah knows best.