صراط عشق صراط عشق
“Today’s partial solar eclipse is the second and final such event in 2022, the other being on April 30. It will be visible from Europe, northeast Africa Asia and Africa and see 82% of the Sun eclipsed by the Moon. The maximum eclipse point will be in Russia. The event puts the Moon in a position to cause a total lunar eclipse in two weeks on November 8—one that will be observable from all of North America”, according to Forbes.
The prayer of signs (ṣalāt al-āyāt)
According to the Grand Ayatollah Sistani‘s Fatwa, Ṣalāt al-āyāt, for which the method of performance will be explained later, becomes obligatory when the following three phenomena occur:
1. solar eclipse;
2. lunar eclipse;
and with the occurrence of these two phenomena, ṣalāt al-āyāt becomes obligatory even if the eclipse is partial and even if one is not frightened by it;
3. earthquake, based on obligatory precaution, even if one is not frightened by it.
How to perform Ṣalāt al-āyāt ?
A shorter method of performing ṣalāt al-āyāt
Ruling 1487. [A shorter method of performing ṣalāt al-āyāt is as follows:] after one has made the intention [of performing the prayer], he says takbīr and recites Sūrat al-Ḥamd; then, he can divide the verses of the other surah into five parts and recite one verse or more, or even less, provided that – based on obligatory precaution – it is a complete sentence. He must start from the beginning of the surah and must not suffice with reciting bismillāh [on its own and count that as one verse]. Then, he goes into rukūʿ, raises his head, and without reciting Sūrat al-Ḥamd he recites the second part of the other surah. He then goes into rukūʿ again, and so on until he completes the other surah before he goes into the fifth rukūʿ. For example, if the other surah is Sūrat al-Falaq,(1) he first says:
بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ. قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ
bismil lāhir raḥmānir raḥīm. qul aʿūdhu birabbil falaq
In the Name of Allah, the All-Beneficent, the Ever-Merciful. Say, ‘I seek the protection of the Lord of the daybreak.
…and goes into rukūʿ [for the first time]; he then stands up and says:
مِنْ شَرِّ مَا خـَـلَقَ
min sharri mā khalaq
from the evil of what He has created,
…and goes into rukūʿ again [for the second time]; he then stands up and says:
وَ مِنْ شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ
wa min sharri ghāsiqin idhā waqab
and from the evil of the dark night when it settles,
…and goes into rukūʿ again [for the third time]; he then stands up and says:
وَ مِنْ شَرِّ النَّـفَّاثَاتِ فِي الْعُقَدِ
wa min sharrin naffāthāti fil ʿuqad
and from the evil of the witches who blow on knots,
…and goes into rukūʿ again [for the fourth time]; he then stands up and says:
وَ مِنْ شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ
wa min sharri ḥāsidin idhā ḥasad
and from the evil of the envious one when he envies.’
…and goes into rukūʿ for the fifth time. He then stands up, performs two sajdahs, and then proceeds to perform the second rakʿah in the same way as the first. And after the second sajdah [of the second rakʿah], he says tashahhud and the salām of the prayer. Furthermore, it is permitted for one to divide the surah into less than five parts, but whenever he completes the surah, it is necessary that he recites Sūrat al-Ḥamd before performing the next rukūʿ.
Ruling 1488. There is no problem if a person recites Sūrat al-Ḥamd and the other surah five times in one rakʿah of ṣalāt al-āyāt, and in the other rakʿah he recites one Sūrat al-Ḥamd and divides the other surah into five parts.
Ruling 1489. Those things that are obligatory and recommended in the daily prayers are also obligatory and recommended in ṣalāt al-āyāt. However, if ṣalāt al-āyāt is performed in congregation, one can say ‘aṣṣalāh’ three times instead of adhān and iqāmah with the intention of rajāʾ; this does not apply if the prayer is not performed in congregation. The legality of performing ṣalāt al-āyāt in congregation for phenomena other than solar and lunar eclipses is not established [i.e. it must not be performed in congregation for other than these phenomena].
Ruling 1490. It is recommended that one says takbīr before and after rukūʿ, but saying takbīr after the fifth and the tenth rukūʿ is not recommended; rather, it is recommended that one says ‘samiʿal lāhu liman ḥamidah’.(2)
Ruling 1491. It is recommended that one performs qunūt before the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, and tenth rukūʿ; and if one performs qunūt before only the tenth rukūʿ, it is sufficient.
Ruling 1492. If in ṣalāt al-āyāt one doubts how many rakʿahs he has performed, and having thought about it he does not find an answer, his prayer is invalid.
Ruling 1493. If a person doubts whether he is in the last rukūʿ of the first rakʿah or the first rukūʿ of the second rakʿah, and having thought about it he does not find an answer, his prayer is invalid. However, if, for example, he doubts whether he has performed four or five rukūʿs, in the event that his doubt arises before he bends down for sajdah, he must perform the rukūʿ about which he doubts. However, if he has already bent down for sajdah, he must dismiss his doubt.
Ruling 1494. Every rukūʿ of ṣalāt al-āyāt is a rukn; therefore, if a rukūʿ is intentionally omitted or added, the prayer is invalid. The same applies if a rukūʿ is mistakenly omitted, or, based on obligatory precaution, if it is mistakenly added.
(1) Chapter 113 of the Qur’an.
(2) For the translation of this phrase, see the third section of ‘Translation of prayers’ after Ruling 1107.
