Penumbral Lunar Eclipse in North America on February 10th, 2017
The eclipse will be visible in the shaded regions above.
Dear Brothers and Sisters – As’Salamu Alaykum,
There will be a penumbral lunar eclipse [i] over the majority of North America beginning on Friday, February 10th, 2017 at approximately 5:34pm EST. If this prevents all or some of the disc of the moon from being visible, then Salat al-Ayaat (as explained below) will be obligatory. However, in many cases, penumbral lunar eclipses are either not perceptible, or, they result in a portion of the moon appearing less bright than usual, though the entire disc is still visible. In these cases, Salat al-Ayaat will not be obligatory. For more information on what time the eclipse will occur in your respective area, please click here.
How to perform the prayer of “al-Ayaat”,
a two unit (Rak’ah) prayer:
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 five times (steps 3 & 4), and, when one stands after the fifth Ruku’, they should then proceed to perform the two Sajdah (as in the normal morning prayer), and then stand up to perform the second Rak’ah in the same manner as was done in the first Rak’ah (with the five times Ruku’).
7. After performing the second set of Sajdah, then one should recite Tashahhud and end it with Salam to complete the prayer.
*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.
[i] A penumbral lunar eclipse takes place when the Moon moves through the faint, outer part of Earth’s shadow. This type of eclipse is often mistaken for a normal Full Moon. To learn more about penumbral lunar eclipses, click here.