Hadith 1479

أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو دَاوُدَ ، قال : حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَلِيٍّ الْحَنَفِيُّ ، قال : حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامٌ صَاحِبُ الدَّسْتَوَائِيِّ ، عَنْ أَبِي الزُّبَيْرِ ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ ، قال : " كَسَفَتِ الشَّمْسُ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي يَوْمٍ شَدِيدِ الْحَرِّ ، فَصَلَّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِأَصْحَابِهِ فَأَطَالَ الْقِيَامَ حَتَّى جَعَلُوا يَخِرُّونَ ، ثُمَّ رَكَعَ فَأَطَالَ ، ثُمَّ رَفَعَ فَأَطَالَ ، ثُمَّ رَكَعَ فَأَطَالَ ، ثُمَّ رَفَعَ فَأَطَالَ ، ثُمَّ سَجَدَ سَجْدَتَيْنِ ، ثُمَّ قَامَ فَصَنَعَ نَحْوًا مِنْ ذَلِكَ ، وَجَعَلَ يَتَقَدَّمُ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ يَتَأَخَّرُ ، فَكَانَتْ أَرْبَعَ رَكَعَاتٍ وَأَرْبَعَ سَجَدَاتٍ , كَانُوا يَقُولُونَ : إِنَّ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ لَا يَخْسِفَانِ إِلَّا لِمَوْتِ عَظِيمٍ مِنْ عُظَمَائِهِمْ , وَإِنَّهُمَا آيَتَانِ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ يُرِيكُمُوهُمَا , فَإِذَا انْخَسَفَتْ فَصَلُّوا حَتَّى تَنْجَلِيَ " .
´It was narrated that Jabir bin 'Abdullah said:` "The sun eclipsed during the time of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on a very hot day. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) led his companions in prayer, and he stood for so long that they started to fall over. Then he bowed for a long time, then he stood up (and remained standing) for a long time. Then he bowed again for a long time, then he stood up (again) and (remained standing) for a long time. Then he prostrated twice, then he stood up and did the same again. He started to move forward, then he started to step back. He bowed four times and prostrated four times. They used to say that eclipses of the sun and moon only happened when one of their great men died, but they are two of the signs of Allah (SWT) that He shows to you, so when an eclipse happens, pray until it is over."
Hadith Reference سنن نسائي / كتاب الكسوف / 1479
Hadith Grading الألبانی: صحيح  |  زبیر علی زئی: صحيح مسلم
Hadith Takhrij «صحیح مسلم/الکسوف 3 (904)، سنن ابی داود/الصلاة 262 (1179)، (تحفة الأشراف: 2976) ، مسند احمد 3/374، 382 (صحیح)»
Related hadith on this topic
Explanation & Benefits
Hafiz Muhammad Ameen
1479. Commentary: For benefits, see narration: 1473.
Source: Sunan Nasa'i: Translation and Benefits by Shaykh Hafiz Muhammad Amin Hafizullah, Page: 1479
Shaykh Maulana Abdul Aziz Alvi
Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
(1)
"Iddat al-shams":
The sun returned to its previous state.
(2)
"Lafh":
Wrap up,
or heat and scorching.
(3)
"Mahjan":
A staff bent on one side.

Benefits and Issues:
From this narration of Anas radi Allahu anhu, it is established that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam performed three bowings (ruku‘) in each unit (rak‘ah) of the prayer for the solar eclipse on the day of the death of Ibrahim alayhis salam. This event occurred on Monday, 29th Shawwal, 10 AH, corresponding to 27th January 632 CE. And since after the conquest of Makkah people were entering Islam in large numbers, here too the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam repeated the same matters that he had mentioned earlier, and here as well he was shown the scenes of Paradise and Hell in almost the same manner. However, in the previous hadith, the incident of the owner of the crooked staff (sahib mahjan) is not mentioned.
Source: Tuhfat al-Muslim: Commentary on Sahih Muslim, Page: 2102
Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi
1178. Commentary:
➊ The connection of this hadith to the chapter is not clear, except that in the eclipse prayer (salat al-kusuf), each first standing (qiyam) and bowing (ruku) should be long, and the second should be shorter than the first.
➋ The reason the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) moved forward from his prayer mat was due to witnessing Paradise, and his stepping back was because Hell was shown to him.
➌ According to Shaykh al-Albani (rahimahullah), the wording mentioning six bowings (ruku) in this narration is anomalous (shadh). The preserved wording is of four bowings, as is mentioned in the next hadith.
Source: Sunan Abu Dawood – Commentary by Shaykh Umar Farooq Saeedi, Page: 1178