Solar Eclipse — a Fearful Omen from God?

Muhammad thought so.

According to authoritative Islamic traditions, a full solar eclipse occurred during Muhammad’s life, coinciding with the death of his infant son Ibrahim who at the time of his death in early 632 AD was a year and a half old.  Whispering quickly began to circulate among the Muslims that the sun was eclipsed over nature’s sadness at the demise of the prophet’s son.

To his credit, Muhammad quelled this rumor quickly, after completing prayers prompted by the celestial sign:

Narrated Abu Bakra: Allah’s Apostle said: “the sun and the moon are two signs amongst the signs of Allah and they do not eclipse because of the death of someone but Allah frightens His devotees with them” (Sahih Bukhari, 2.18.158).

However, in setting the record straight that the eclipse had no connection with his son’s death, Muhammad taught that this event in the sky was nonetheless a sign from Allah meant to frighten His people — presumably as a reminder that the Day of Judgment was nigh. According to other authoritative traditions, the occurrence of this eclipse brought fear into the prophet’s own heart:

Narrated Numan bin Bashir: “The sun was eclipsed at the time of the Messenger of Allah, and he came out alarmed, dragging his lower garment, until he reached the mosque. He continued to perform prayer until the eclipse was over, then he said: ‘Some people claim that the sun and moon only become eclipsed because of the death of a great leader. That is not so. The sun and the moon do not become eclipsed for the death or birth of anyone. When Allah manifests Himself to anything in His creation, it humbles itself before Him’” (Sunan Ibn Majah, 7.1262).

Muhammad’s fear is seen in his haste (dragging his lower garment) and alarm to get to the mosque as the eclipse is unfolding, and then by continuing in leading ritual prayers until all signs of the eclipse have passed. This personal fear concerning the solar eclipse as an omen of the impending Day of Judgment becomes even more clear in the following tradition:

Narrated Abu Musa: The sun eclipsed and the Prophet got up, being afraid that it might be the Hour (i.e. Day of Judgment). He went to the Mosque and offered the prayer with the longest Qiyam [standing], bowing and prostration that I had ever seen him doing. Then he said, “These signs which Allah sends do not occur because of the life or death of somebody, but Allah makes His worshipers afraid by them. So when you see anything thereof, proceed to remember Allah, invoke Him and ask for His forgiveness” (Sahih Bukhari, 2.18.167).

Clearly, Muhammad linked this natural event with the coming judgment of Allah, and wanted to be found praying should Allah be ushering in the End Times, so he continued with the “longest” prayers (standing, bowing, prostrating) that anyone had ever seen, until the eclipse had ended. In his mind, an eclipse is a divine sign meant to instill fear in the hearts of believers.

Now, Muhammad was a man of his times, and it was a common understanding in such days that rare events in the heavens were portents from the gods (or Allah). An eclipse was not a natural, mathematically-calculable event in which the orbit of the moon around the earth perfectly lined up with the angle of the earth to the sun such that it blotted out the sun briefly as it continued its orbital pattern around the earth. No, it was a supernatural act by which divine forces revealed their displeasure with humans or at least reminded them of a coming time of punishment and destruction.

Muhammad as a natural man cannot be faulted for giving an unusual event some supernatural meaning, even if scientists today can predict to the second when such an event will take place and in what part of the world it will be visible.

But how about Muhammad as a prophet of God and as the ideal man teaching all humanity how to act to please God? Would a true prophet “cut and run” over a natural event, no matter how unusual? Would his god not inform him that this was no supernatural sign of impending judgment? Would personal fear be the appropriate knee-jerk response of a true prophet to something he was convinced was an act of his god? If his behaviors are the perfect model of how believers should live, then should Muslims live in fear today as a total eclipse occurs, and spend their hours in a local mosque until the event has ended?

Or should we conclude that Muhammad was acting in response to superstitions, like his contemporaries, and was as clueless as others of his day that eclipses are natural, predictable events in the skies, in and of themselves no omen from the heavens of judgment or destruction?

To be separated from the sun for a few hours is no big deal. To be separated from the Son, however, that’s another story.