🌒 The Legal Status of the Sermon After Salat al-Kusuf (Solar Eclipse Prayer) 🌒
Written by: Imran Ayyub Lahori
❀ Delivering a Sermon After the Eclipse Prayer Is Sunnah
It is Sunnah to deliver a sermon after the Salat al-Kusuf (solar eclipse prayer), as established from a Ṣaḥīḥ narration reported by ʿĀʾishah (رضي الله عنها):
“Indeed, the sun and the moon are two signs from among the signs of Allah.”
📚 Bukhārī: 1052, Book of Jumuʿah: Chapter on Performing the Eclipse Prayer in Congregation; Muslim: 907; Muwaṭṭaʾ: 1/186; Abū Dāwūd: 1181
✿ Imam al-Bukhari’s View on the Eclipse Sermon
Imam Bukhārī (رحمه الله) established a chapter titled:
“The Khutbah of the Imam During the Eclipse” (باب خطبة الإمام في الكسوف)
Under this heading, he narrated that both ʿĀʾishah and Asmāʾ (رضي الله عنهما) said:
“The Prophet ﷺ delivered a sermon.”
📚 Bukhārī (Suspended narration): 1046
This implies that delivering a sermon after Salat al-Kusuf is a recognized Sunnah practice.
❌ No Adhān or Iqāmah for the Eclipse Prayer
There is no authentic Hadith that proves Adhān or Iqāmah for Salat al-Kusuf. This prayer is to be performed without any call to prayer.
⚠️ Purpose of the Eclipse: To Instill Awe of Allah
Abū Bakrah (رضي الله عنه) narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said:
“But Allah causes fear among His slaves through them (i.e., the sun and the moon).”
📚 Bukhārī: 1048, Book of Eclipses: Chapter on the Prophet’s saying that Allah frightens His slaves through the eclipse
This Hadith establishes the purpose behind the solar and lunar eclipses:
To inspire fear, reflection, and turning back to Allah ﷻ.
⚠️ Weak Narration Regarding Earthquake Prayer
The narration that claims:
“The Prophet ﷺ performed a prayer consisting of four prostrations and six rukūʿs during an earthquake and said that signs of Allah are to be prayed for in this manner”
— is weak (ḍaʿīf).
📚 Bayhaqī: 3/343; ʿAbd al-Razzāq: 4932; Taʿlīq ʿalā Sabil al-Salām by Shaykh Ṣubḥī Ḥallāq: 3/263
Hence, this narration cannot be relied upon for establishing any act of worship.
✅ Summary of Rulings Derived
➊ Delivering a sermon after Salat al-Kusuf is Sunnah, as practiced by the Prophet ﷺ.
➋ There is no Adhān or Iqāmah for this prayer.
➌ The eclipse is a divine sign meant to instill awe, not a cause for festivities or negligence.
➍ Weak narrations regarding other forms of prayer, such as during an earthquake, should not be acted upon.
