Q 707: What is an āyāt prayer and what makes it obligatory according to Islamic law?
A: It is comprised of two rak‘ahs, with five rukū‘s and two prostrations in each rak‘ah. According to Islamic law, it becomes obligatory due to solar and lunar eclipses, even partial ones; an earthquake; and any abnormal phenomenon which scares most people, such as an unusual black, red, or yellow storm, an intense darkness, landslide, a cry (from the heavens), and the fire which sometimes appears in the sky. Āyāt prayer is not made obligatory by that which does not frighten most people, excepting eclipses and earthquakes, or by things which scare exceptions among people.
Q 708: How is an āyāt prayer performed?
A: Āyāt prayer has several forms:
i. After making intention and saying the takbīrah al-iḥrām, one recites the Fātiḥah and another one, and then performs rukū‘. After rising from the rukū‘, one recites the Fātiḥah and a chapter, and again performs rukū‘. One keeps on doing so until he performs five rukū‘s, each preceded by the Fātiḥah and another one. After that, he rises up and performs two prostrations, then stands up and performs the second rak‘ah in the same manner as the first one, completing with two prostrations, followed by tashahhud and salām.
ii. After making intention and saying takbīr, one recites the Fātiḥah and one part, at least a single complete verse, of a chapter, then performs rukū‘. Then rising from the rukū‘, one recites another part of that chapter followed by a rukū‘. Then raising his head, he recites another part of the same chapter, and continues this procedure until the fifth rukū‘, by then he should have completed the chapter. Then after the fifth rukū‘, he performsm two prostrations, then stands up and recites the Fātiḥah and a part of a chapter, followed by rukū‘, and continues in the same manner as in the first rak‘ah, finishing with tashahhud and salām. If one wants to suffice with one verse of the chapter before every rukū‘, he may not recite the Fātiḥah more than once at the beginning of the rak‘ah.
iii. One performs one of the two rak‘ahs in one of the above two forms and the other rak‘ah in the other form.
iv. One completes the chapter, of which he recited a verse in the first standing state, in the second, third, or the fourth standing state, for instance. Then it will be obligatory for him, after raising his head from the rukū‘, to repeat the Fātiḥah in the following standing state, and to recite with it a chapter or a verse of a chapter if he is before the third or forth rukū‘. In this case, he must complete that chapter before the fifth rukū‘.
Q 709: Is the obligation of āyāt prayer limited to those who are in the city of occurrence of the phenomenon, or does it apply to any mukallaf who comes to know about it without being in that city?
A: It is obligatory only for those who are in the phenomenon’s city, and this rule also applies to those who are in the adjacent city if both are considered as one city.
Q 710: If someone is unconscious when an earthquake occurs, and becomes conscious after its occurrence, will the āyāt prayer be obligatory for him?
A: If he does not come to know that an earthquake occurred until the adjacent time has finished, it is not obligatory for him to perform the āyāt prayer, but it is of caution to do so.
Q 711: After an earthquake in an area it is often observed that dozens of tremors occurs there in a short period of time. What is the rule with respect to āyāt prayer in such cases?
A: Each quake, whether violent or mild, requires its own āyāt prayer provided that it is considered as an independent quake.
Q 712: The center of seismography reports the occurrence of several mild earthquakes in the area we live, mentioning their number, though we felt none of them. Is āyāt prayer obligatory for us in such a case?
A: If you did not feel the quakes during or immediately after their occurrence, the āyāt prayer will not be obligatory for you.