Bismi Llāhi r-Raḥmāni r-Raḥīm
Sohbah on 25 May 2021 by Hjh Rukiye Sultan
Bismillahi Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim
Tariqatuna as-sohba wal khayru fil jam’iyya
Madad Ya Sayyidi Ya Rasul Allah ﷺ, wa Mashayikhina Sheikh Nazim Adil Al-Haqqaniق, Sheikh Muhammad Ar-Rabbaniق
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatuLlahi wa barakatuhu
Somebody mentioned that there will be an eclipse tomorrow night, inshaAllah.
There is a special prayer for it, which is a sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. He would gather people and call them for the Eclipse Prayer.
For a solar eclipse it is called Salatul Kusuf, and for a lunar eclipse it is called Salat ul-Khusuf.
It is a sunnah mu’akkadah, and it is a very long prayer.
You make the intention, and you can pray it alone or in jama’ah. There is no iqama for this prayer.
The Prophet ﷺ used to recite Fatiha, then a long surah from the Qur’an al-Kareem, continuing until the eclipse cleared from the sun or the moon.
In the first rak‘ah you can read Fatiha and Yasin if you know Yasin by heart.
In the second rak‘ah you can read Fatiha with Surah al-Mulk and Surah an-Naba’, or any other surahs you know.
If you do not know, you can recite Fatiha with 100 Ikhlas in the first rak‘ah, and Fatiha with 50 Ikhlas in the second rak‘ah.
Mawlana Sheikh Nazimق used to gather us and recite after Fatiha, Surah Yasin and Surah Tabarak in the first rak‘ah, and then other long surahs in the second rak‘ah.
The sunnah is to recite long surahs in these two rak‘ahs.
After completing the prayer, we recite Astaghfirullah al-‘Azheem wa atubu ilayh 100 times, make du‘a, and ask for protection and safety for ourselves and the entire Ummah, because the Prophet ﷺ said that the eclipse is one of the signs of Allah’s ﷻ Mightiness.
This prayer can take quite long, sometimes half an hour or more, until the eclipse clears from the moon or the sun. InshaAllah, Allah ﷻ makes it easy for us.
We should intend to keep this prayer, as it is a sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.
In the Shafi‘i madhhab, the prayer is performed slightly differently. They make two ruku‘ in each rak‘ah of the two-rak‘ah prayer.
In the Hanafi madhhab, there is only one ruku‘ in each rak‘ah, but we stand longer and recite long surahs or multiple Ikhlas.
In the Shafi‘i madhhab, after the first ruku‘ they rise, continue reciting, then go into ruku‘ again, and continue the prayer until the eclipse clears. It is sunnah mu’akkadah.
A lady once asked, when should the Kusuf prayer be performed. The answer is, when you see the eclipse in the sky, whether solar or lunar, that is the time to pray.
You make the intention and pray. Most people perform it in jama‘ah, but it is also valid to pray individually.
If the eclipse is visible in your location, you may pray, inshaAllah.
Al-Fatiha.
• Hjh Rukiye Sultan
25 May 2021/ 13 Shawwal 1442 AH
Download The Eclipse Prayer – Full PDF
Guide to the Eclipse Prayer tonight, 7 September 2025, can be found here.
Discover more from SufiHub - Tariqatul Naqshbandiyyatil Aliyyah (Sheikh Muhammad 'Adil)
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.