Islamic stance on solar eclipses

In the time of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) a solar eclips occurred. People superstitiously attributed its occurrence to the death of Ibrahim, son of the Prophet. They said that Ibrahim’s death, which coincidently happened in the same day of the solar eclipse, blocked out the sun.



What did the prophet (pbuh) say to them? Did he confirm such belief, or did he rather correct it? The Prophet’s (pbuh) response was:

"The sun and the moon are two signs amongst the signs of Allah; they do not eclipse because of the death of someone, and so when an eclipse occurs, pray and invoke Allah till the eclipse is over.”

ahadith.co.uk...

Usually, the ancients ascribd the occurrence of any phenomenon to myths or superstitions; for example, they believed that the Sun eclipsed when a great figure died. Sometimes, they said that such phenomenon was an omen of defeat in battles, death of a king or the fall of his reign. Some people believed that the eclipse of the Sun foreshadowed great incidents/the eclipse of the Sun foretold the occurrence of great incidents, as they used to correlate the Sun to the gods. It was not until 1605 that astronomer Johannes Kepler gave a complete scientific description of a total solar eclipse.

Hence, the eclipse of the Sun does not occur because of the life or death of a king or a ruler; it rather takes place for matters that are much greater than that. That was the way by which Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) explained this phenomenon to the people.


Had Allah’s Messengr been a seeker of fame, money or authority, and had he liked the idea of being praised or having his son’s death attributed to the solar eclipse, he would have accepted the people’s supernatural explanation of the phenomenon. He should have let the people sanctify him and grant him a legendary status. Had he been a praise lover, he would have let his people relate the solar eclipse to the death of his son, and that would have given him a higher status among his people. This is for me another sign of his prophethood.

Throughout the Qur'an, people are encouraged to look around them, observe and reflect on the beauties and wonders of the natural world - as signs of Allah's majesty.

"Allah is He, who created the sun, the moon, and the stars -- (all) governed by laws under His commandment." Qur'an 7:54

"It is He who created the night and the day and the sun and the moon. All (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its orbit." Qur'an 21:33

"The sun and the moon follow courses exactly computed." Qur'an 55:05

In remembrance and gratefulness for all of His favors, Muslims all over the world bow down in prayer five times each day. At a time of a solar or lunar eclipse, there is a recommended prayer (salatul-kusuf) that is performed by the Muslim community in congregation.

Since there is a solar eclipse going on in the states I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to share a religious stance on solar eclipses for those interested in learning something new.

I thank you for reading,

Peace out!

a reply to: ElectricFeel

He still ascribed it to a mystic event that requires praying.

a reply to: ElectricFeel

Interesting stuff. It's things like this that make me see certain qualities of the Islamic faith. It's just the bad stuff kind of outweighs it for me.. Please post more often though, it's a pleasant change to see a Muslim's take on things these days...

"I have no need of that hypothesis."

Pierre-Simon Laplace ~ 1800

a reply to: OccamsRazor04

To be fair, the fact that the sun, the moon, the earth and the planets and their moons revolve like clockwork is in itself a miracle.

God? Maybe...

I prefer the old superstitions on a solar eclipse, as elaborated by the pagans and similar. None of this "God the Creator" malarkey. If God was the creator of all, he's lost the plot with humankind. The mess in the Middle East is point proved.

More the mystery of rebirth and wonder. That's where I chime.

originally posted by: paraphi
I prefer the old superstitions on a solar eclipse, as elaborated by the pagans and similar. None of this "God the Creator" malarkey. If God was the creator of all, he's lost the plot with humankind. The mess in the Middle East is point proved.

More the mystery of rebirth and wonder. That's where I chime.

Actually the Middle East was modernising quite nicely until western intervention f#cked it all up.

originally posted by: Wide-Eyes
a reply to: OccamsRazor04

To be fair, the fact that the sun, the moon, the earth and the planets and their moons revolve like clockwork is in itself a miracle.

God? Maybe...

It would be stranger if the moon suddenly diverted paths to avoid them. That's when we could say gawd, maybe.

originally posted by: Wide-Eyes
a reply to: OccamsRazor04

To be fair, the fact that the sun, the moon, the earth and the planets and their moons revolve like clockwork is in itself a miracle.

God? Maybe...

Or a race of really advanced beings capable of building and terraforming worlds? Heck if there is really a dysons swarm around tabys star then any civilization that can do that can probably build and engineer entire worlds.

originally posted by: JanAmosComenius
"I have no need of that hypothesis."

Pierre-Simon Laplace ~ 1800

To be fair, that quote by Laplace was as a scientist and he was speaking about a very specific situation where a 'God hypothesis' was not required.

Laplace was a devout Christian, he just had no need to invoke his faith in the situation.

That the universe exists at all, is ordered and follows discernable rules is the miracle. The fact that we can discern those rules does not in any way suggest that God was not the source of it.

It would be a failure in reasoning to think that because a mechanism always works in a particular way, that a creator of that mechanism is somehow disproven, or that the mechanism must somehow arise without direction and planning.

a reply to: ElectricFeel

They must of taken it from the Vedas, they have been talking about it since before Allah even existed.

originally posted by: Abysha

originally posted by: Wide-Eyes
a reply to: OccamsRazor04

To be fair, the fact that the sun, the moon, the earth and the planets and their moons revolve like clockwork is in itself a miracle.

God? Maybe...

It would be stranger if the moon suddenly diverted paths to avoid them. That's when we could say gawd, maybe.

LOL! You can't even type the word God. It must be a strange world you live in.

originally posted by: Abysha

originally posted by: Wide-Eyes
a reply to: OccamsRazor04

To be fair, the fact that the sun, the moon, the earth and the planets and their moons revolve like clockwork is in itself a miracle.

God? Maybe...

It would be stranger if the moon suddenly diverted paths to avoid them. That's when we could say gawd, maybe.

Even more so, the ancients built devices to determine these event.

originally posted by: Wide-Eyes

originally posted by: Abysha

originally posted by: Wide-Eyes
a reply to: OccamsRazor04

To be fair, the fact that the sun, the moon, the earth and the planets and their moons revolve like clockwork is in itself a miracle.

God? Maybe...

It would be stranger if the moon suddenly diverted paths to avoid them. That's when we could say gawd, maybe.

LOL! You can't even type the word God. It must be a strange world you live in.

Yes I can! Hold my sake...

Let's see... gods, goddess... gawd.

#, you're right!

nice post ElectricFeel.