Ṣalāt al-Khusūf should be prayed in ones home individually
According to the Aḥnāf, Ṣalāt al-Khusūf should be prayed individually, similar to a nafl ṣalāh. This should be done in the home. This is because of the ḥadīth where the Prophet ﷺ mentioned that prayer in ones house is more virtuous except for the ordained ṣalāh;
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الأَعْلَى بْنُ حَمَّادٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا وُهَيْبٌ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ عُقْبَةَ، عَنْ سَالِمٍ أَبِي النَّضْرِ، عَنْ بُسْرِ بْنِ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ ثَابِتٍ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم اتَّخَذَ حُجْرَةً ـ قَالَ حَسِبْتُ أَنَّهُ قَالَ ـ مِنْ حَصِيرٍ فِي رَمَضَانَ فَصَلَّى فِيهَا لَيَالِيَ، فَصَلَّى بِصَلاَتِهِ نَاسٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِهِ، فَلَمَّا عَلِمَ بِهِمْ جَعَلَ يَقْعُدُ، فَخَرَجَ إِلَيْهِمْ فَقَالَ “ قَدْ عَرَفْتُ الَّذِي رَأَيْتُ مِنْ صَنِيعِكُمْ، فَصَلُّوا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ فِي بُيُوتِكُمْ، فَإِنَّ أَفْضَلَ الصَّلاَةِ صَلاَةُ الْمَرْءِ فِي بَيْتِهِ إِلاَّ الْمَكْتُوبَةَ ”. قَالَ عَفَّانُ حَدَّثَنَا وُهَيْبٌ، حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى، سَمِعْتُ أَبَا
النَّضْرِ، عَنْ بُسْرٍ، عَنْ زَيْدٍ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم.
Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) made a small room in the month of Ramadan (Sa`id said, “I think that Zaid bin Thabit said that it was made of a mat”) and he prayed there for a few nights, and so some of his companions prayed behind him. When he came to know about it, he kept on sitting. In the morning, he went out to them and said, “I have seen and understood what you did. You should pray in your houses, for the best prayer of a person is that which he prays in his house except the compulsory prayers.”[1]
This is the case except when there is an exception made with evidence to back it up. For example the ṣalāt of Eid, Ṣalāh of Tarāwīh, and ṣalāt al-Kusūf (Solar eclipse). As there is no strong evidence to suggest that Ṣalāt al-Khusūf was prayed in jamat, the Aḥnāf hold the view that it should be prayed at home individually.
The Shawāfi’ say that Ṣalāt al-Khusūf should be prayed in jamā’ah. They bring the ḥadīth of Ibn ‘Abbās that the Prophet ﷺ led the people in ṣalāh for Ṣalāt al-Khusūf and then said I prayed as I saw the messenger of Allah praying. The Aḥnāf consider this to be a khabr aḥad and therefore do not act upon it.
As the Aḥnāf hold the opinion that Ṣalāt al-Khusūf should be prayed individually, it follows that they also hold that there is no adhān, iqāmah or khuṭbah for it.
[1] Sahih al-Bukhari 731
