Solar Eclipse in North America on August 21st, 2017

There will be a total solar eclipse which will be visible over the majority of North America beginning Monday, August 21^st, 2017 wherein Salat al-Ayaat is wajib. For more details about the solar eclipse and the time it will occur in your respective area, please click here.  For those areas where a partial eclipse will be visible (when the moon covers only a part of the sun) please refer to the map for your location, as Salat al-Ayaat is also wajib.

What is a Solar Eclipse?

Total solar eclipses occur when the New Moon comes between the Sun and Earth and casts the darkest part of its shadow, the umbra, on Earth. A full solar eclipse, known as totality, is almost as dark as night.

During a total eclipse of the Sun, the Moon covers the entire disk of the Sun. In partial and annular solar eclipses, the Moon blocks only part of the Sun.[1]

5 Interesting facts about this eclipse[2]

1. The first location on continental US soil to see the eclipse will be Lincoln City, Oregon, at 9:04 am local time.
2. The last time a total solar eclipse was visible from the American West coast to East coast of the was almost 100 years ago, on June 8, 1918.
3. The last time anyone in mainland US saw a total eclipse of the Sun was on February 26, 1979. If you live in the US and miss this event, you’ll have to wait 7 more years, until April 8, 2024, to see a total solar eclipse from a location in the contiguous United States.
4. Parts of 14 American States will go dark for the 2 minutes of totality
5. As the sky turns dark, planets and stars hidden in the sky by the Sun’s bright light will reappear. Look for Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus during totality.

Religious obligation:

During a solar or lunar eclipse, it is obligatory (wajib) to perform a special prayer called Salat al-Ayyat. The prayer becomes Wajib even if the moon or the sun are partially eclipsed, and even if they do not engender any fear.

When should I perform Salat al-Ayaat?

The time of Salat al-Ayaat sets in as the eclipse starts, and remains till the eclipse is over.

The specific instructions on how to perform the prayer are given below.

How to perform the prayer of “al-Ayaat”, a two unit (Rakah) prayer with five Ruku in each unit:
1.  Make the intention (Niyyah) of offering the prayers as “Salat al-Ayaat”.
2.  One should say Takbir: “Allahu Akbar”
3.  Recite Surat al-Fatiha and any other Surah*
4.  Then perform Ruku.
5.  After Ruku, then stand and recite Surat al-Fatiha and any other Surah and then perform another Ruku.
6. One should repeat this action (steps 3 & 4) five times, and when one stands after the fifth Ruku, one should then proceed to perform the two Sajdah (as in the normal Fajr prayer). Then stand up to perform the second Rakah in the same manner as was done in the first Rakah (with the five Ruku).
7.  After performing the second set of Sajdah, one should recite Tashahhud and end the prayer with Salam to complete it.

*Please note that a person is allowed to say Takbir and recite Surat al-Fatiha and then divide the verses of another Surah into five parts, and recite one verse or more or less, and thereafter perform the Ruku. One should then stand up and recite another part of the Surah (without reciting Surat al-Fatiha) and then perform another Ruku. This should be repeated and the Surah must be finished before performing the fifth Ruku. For more details see the Islamic Law Book by clicking here.

We ask the Almighty Allah to accept all your deeds and worships.

I.M.A.M.

[1] https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/total-solar-eclipse.html

[2] All facts taken from https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/facts-solar-eclipse.html