WASHINGTON DC. – As many Americans anticipate the spectacular scenes of solar eclipse, a leading Islamic civil rights group has called on Americans of all faiths and backgrounds to offer prayers and to make charitable donations to help those in need during Monday’s natural phenomenon.
“At this time of growing societal divisions and rising support for un-American intolerance, we are all greatly in need of prayer and contemplation,” said Nihad Awad, National Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), in a statement sent to AboutIslam.net.
“We urge all Americans to use the opportunity provided by Monday’s eclipse to offer prayers based on their own faith traditions and to donate to organizations or institutions that help those in need.”
Later today, all of North America will witness a total solar eclipse for the first time in 99 years, where the Moon will pass in front of the Sun, casting darkness across swathes of the Earth’s surface – with up to 14 states shrouded in complete blackout.
All across the US, there will be solar eclipse viewing parties galore.
Solar eclipse is the partial or total cutting off of the sun’s light when the moon comes between it and the earth.
Before Islam, people used to associate this unusual phenomenon with some superstitious reason. It happened that the sun eclipsed on the day the Prophet’s son Ibrahim died in Madinah, so some people attributed that to his death.
Hence, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) took the opportunity to correct the people’s mistaken notion about the solar eclipse saying, “The sun and the moon are two signs of Allah; they are not eclipsed on account of anyone’s death or on account of anyone’s birth. So when you see them, glorify and supplicate Allah, observe the Prayer, give alms.”
You may also like to check:
https://aboutislam.net/reading-islam/understanding-islam/astonishing-secrets-sun-lunar-eclipses/
https://aboutislam.net/science/eclipse/