and charity, manumission, and drawing closer to Allah the Exalted through whatever one is able; due to this report from Aisha. In the report of Abu Musa, it says: "So hasten to the remembrance of Allah the Exalted, His supplication, and seeking His forgiveness" (23). It is narrated from Asma' that she said: We were commanded to manumit [slaves] during an eclipse (24). This is because it is a frightening occurrence from Allah the Exalted, so it is appropriate to hasten to the obedience of Allah the Exalted, so that He may remove it from His servants.
Section: The requirement of the school of Ahmad is that it is permissible to perform the eclipse prayer in any manner narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), similar to what he said regarding the prayer of fear, except that his preferred choice among them is the prayer in the manner we have mentioned. Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Ibn Abbas and Aisha narrated regarding the eclipse prayer four rak'ahs and four prostrations. As for Ali, he says: six rak'ahs and four prostrations. [He adopted the opinion of Ibn Abbas and Aisha. It is narrated from Ibn Abbas that he prayed six rak'ahs and four prostrations] (25). Likewise, Hudhayfah. This is the opinion of Ishaq and Ibn al-Mundhir. Some scholars said: The eclipse prayer is permissible in any manner that is authentically proven that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) performed it. It is narrated from Aisha and Ibn Abbas that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed six rak'ahs and four prostrations. Reported by Muslim (26). It is narrated from him that he
(23) Reported by al-Bukhari, in: The Chapter on Remembrance during an Eclipse, from the Book of the Eclipse. Sahih al-Bukhari 2/48. And Muslim, in: The Chapter on Mentioning the Call for the Eclipse Prayer "The Prayer is a Gathering", from the Book of the Eclipse. Sahih Muslim 2/628, 629. And al-Nasa'i, in: The Chapter on the Command to Seek Forgiveness during an Eclipse, from the Book of the Eclipse. Al-Mujtaba 3/124. (24) Reported by al-Bukhari, in: The Chapter on He Who Loves Manumission during a Solar Eclipse, from the Book of the Eclipse, Sahih al-Bukhari 2/47. And Abu Dawud, in: The Chapter on Manumission During It, from the Book of Rain-Seeking. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/272. And Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 6/345. (25) Omitted from [A]. A slip of the eye. (26) We did not find this hadith of Ibn Abbas in Muslim; rather, he reported for him a hadith of eight rak'ahs in four prostrations. See: The Book of the Eclipse in Sahih Muslim 2/618-631, and Al-Fath al-Rabbani 6/214. Al-Zayla'i mentioned that Muslim reported the hadith of Ibn Abbas, but that is not so, as his narration was limited to mentioning three rak'ahs only without mentioning the fourth, as in the Sahih 2/620. See Nasb al-Rayah 2/226. This narration of Ibn Abbas has been reported with its exact wording by al-Tirmidhi, in: The Chapter on What Has Come Regarding the Eclipse Prayer, from the Chapters on Travel. Aridat al-Ahwadhi 3/35. =
