Monday 21 January 2019 - 17:00
Blood Moon eclipse 2019 - Muslims to say special prayers during rare celestial event

We are about to witness a blood moon during a total lunar eclipse.

Hawzah News Agency - The rare event - on the night of a supermoon when the moon appears bigger than usual - will take place in the early hours of January 21.

During the eclipse, the moon will turn blood red - or at least a coppery colour - and it is admittedly an eerie and rather ominous sight.

It's easy to imagine what ancient tribes might have thought when they saw such an astronomical phenomenon.

Even today, doomsayers claim such events herald the end of the world, quoting passages from the Book of Revelation in the Bible and also the Book of Joel in the Hebrew Bible.

And for some other religions, eclipses have their own meaning and significance.

Among them, Muslims have their own views and reactions to such events - and this is what they believe.

Muslim worshippers traditionally say special prayers during a solar or lunar eclipse.

In the past there was much fear and superstition surrounding such events, with many believing they were a warning of impending disaster.

There was a solar eclipse when the prophet Muhammad's son Ibrahim died and some thought the sun was darkened because of this tragedy and the grief and mourning it caused.

As the science of astronomy developed and it became possible to predict eclipses, it was clear they were not unexpected reactions to a current human event but part of the clockwork of the cosmos - the normal motions and cycles of stars, planets and moons.

The prophet is quoted as saying: "The sun and the moon are two of the signs of Allah. They do not eclipse because of the death or life of someone. So when you see them, call upon Allah and pray and give in charity."

But it's still said that Allah uses eclipses to make his devotees afraid.

They are said to be a reminder of what will happen on the Day of Judgment or Day of Resurrection after the end of the world when "the sun will be wound round and will lose its light and be overthrown and the stars will fall, and the sight will be dazed, the moon will be eclipsed and the sun and moon will be joined together (by going into one another, or folded up, or deprived of their light)."

But, according to ThoughtCo: "In modern times, superstitions and fear surrounding solar and lunar eclipses have diminished.

"However, Muslims continue the tradition of praying during an eclipse, as a reminder that Allah alone has power over all things in the heavens and on earth."

Whatever the personal beliefs held today, it is customary in Islam to hold prayers during an eclipse.

The eclipse prayers consist of two rakats (cycles), each involving bowing and prostrations.

The moon plays an important part in Muslim life, as the Islamic calendar is based on the moon. All months and events are determined by a sighting of the first crescent of the new moon.

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