I prayed because I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) praying. And because it is one of the two eclipses, it is similar to the solar eclipse. It is Sunnah to perform it in congregation and individually. This is the opinion of Malik and al-Shafi'i. It is narrated from al-Thawri that he said: If the Imam prays it, pray it with him, otherwise do not pray it. Our evidence is his saying (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "When you see them, then pray." And because it is a supererogatory prayer (nafilah), it is permissible individually, like all other supererogatory prayers. If this is established, then performing it in congregation is superior, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed it in congregation, and it is the Sunnah to perform it in the mosque, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed it there. Aishah said: The sun eclipsed during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), so he went out to the mosque, and the people lined up behind him. Reported by al-Bukhari. Also, because the time for the eclipse is short; if he were to go out to the prayer ground (musalla), the clearing might occur before performing it. It is legislated in both residence and travel, with or without the permission of the Imam. Abu Bakr said: It is like the Eid prayer, regarding which there are two narrations. Our evidence is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "When you see them, then pray." And because it is a supererogatory prayer, it is similar to all other supererogatory prayers. It is legislated for women, because Aishah and Asma' prayed with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Reported by al-Bukhari. It is Sunnah to call out for it: "Al-salatu jami'ah" (Prayer is a congregation), as it is narrated from Abdullah ibn