In the holy Qur’an, Allah the Almighty says: “The sun and the moon follow courses exactly computed.” (Qur’an 55:05).
In a few hours, skygazers will get a treat with the arrival of the only ‘Super Flower Blood Moon’ in 2022.
During the eclipse, the full moon will pass through the Earth’s shadow. It appears red, known as a “blood moon”, as light is scattered through the Earth’s atmosphere, much like during a sunset.
In addition, the moon will be at perigee, or the closest point to Earth in its orbit, making it appear larger than normal and brighter or a “super moon,” according to Space.com.
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This NASA graphic shows the major stages of the Super Flower Blood Moon of May 2022 and their times. (Image credit: NASA)
May’s full moon is known as the “Flower Moon” since it occurs when spring flowers are in bloom.
The stunning phenomenon will be visible with the naked eye from portions of the Americas, Antarctica, Europe, Africa and the east Pacific.
Meanwhile, a penumbral eclipse, where the outer part of Earth’s shadow blankets the moon, will be visible in New Zealand, eastern Europe and the Middle East.
This will be the first of two lunar eclipses in 2022. The next one will take place on Nov. 8, 2022 and will be visible at least partially from Asia, Australia, North America, parts of northern and eastern Europe, the Arctic and most of South America, according to TimeandDate.com.
A visibility map for the May 15, 2022 Super Flower Blood Moon lunar eclipse. (Image credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio)
Solar Eclipse in Islam
Solar eclipse is the partial or total cutting off of the sun’s light when the moon comes between it and the earth.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes within Earth’s umbra (shadow). The shadow turns the moon’s color to dark red-brown (typically – the color can vary based on atmospheric conditions).
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The moon appears to be reddish because of Rayleigh scattering (the same effect that causes sunsets to appear reddish) and the refraction of that light by Earth’s atmosphere into its umbra.
Before Islam, people used to associate this unusual phenomenon with some superstitious reasons. It happened that the sun eclipsed on the day Ibrahim, son of Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) 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 belief 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.”