How religions have responded to total solar eclipses over the centuries

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How religions have responded to total solar eclipses over the centuries

A partial solar eclipse is seen behind a cross on the steeple of the St. George *******, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, June 21, 2020. Throughout history, solar eclipses have had profound impact on adherents of various religions around the world. They were viewed as messages from **** or spiritual forces, inducing emotions ranging from dread to wonder. Credit: AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File

Throughout history, solar eclipses have had profound impact on adherents of various religions around the world. They were viewed as messages from **** or spiritual forces, inducing emotions ranging from dread to wonder.

Ahead of the total solar eclipse that will follow a long path over North America on Monday, here’s a look at how several of the world’s major religions have responded to such eclipses over the centuries and in modern times.

Buddhism:

In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, it is believed that the energy of positive and negative actions is multiplied during major astronomical events such as a solar eclipse.

According to the late Lama Zopa Rinpoche with the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, both lunar and solar eclipses are auspicious days for spiritual practice. He has said that the merit—which represents the positive karmic results of good intentions and actions—generated on lunar eclipses is multiplied by 700,000 and on solar eclipses by 100 million. Some of the recommended spiritual activities on these days include chanting mantras and sutras.

Christianity:

Some Christians have believed that an eclipse portends the coming of the “end times” that will precede *******’s return to Earth as prophesized at various points in the ******. One such passage is in the second chapter of Acts: “The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.”

There also has been a persisting belief among some Christians that an eclipse occurred during the crucifixion because three of the ******’s four Gospels mention a three-hour ******* of darkness as ****** *****.

“It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining,” says Luke 23:44.

It’s been noted that a three-hour ******* of darkness doesn’t suggest a solar eclipse, which produces only a few minutes of darkness.

But a recent commentary on ChurchLeaders.com—a website supported by numerous prominent evangelical pastors—said the darkness depicted in the three Gospels “represents a profound spiritual transition.”

“The temporary obscuring of the sun, juxtaposed with the ultimate sacrifice of ******, offers a powerful metaphor for the transient nature of despair and the eternal promise of salvation and rebirth,” the commentary says.

Hinduism:

The origin of eclipses in Hinduism is explained in ancient legends known as puranas. In one legend, the devas and asuras, who symbolized good and evil respectively, churned the ocean to receive the nectar of eternal life. As one of the asuras, Svarbhanu, posed as a deva to receive the nectar, the Sun **** (Surya) and Moon **** (Chandra) alerted Mohini, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who then used a discus to behead Svarbhanu.

But because the asura had already consumed a portion of the nectar, his immortal but detached head and body lived on under the names Rahu and Ketu. Legend has it that Rahu occasionally swallows the sun and the moon because of the gods’ part in his misery, causing solar and lunar eclipses.

Hindus generally regard a solar or lunar eclipse as a bad omen. Some observe fasts before and many do not eat during the ******* of the eclipse. Observant Hindus ritually bathe to cleanse themselves during the first and final phases of an eclipse. Some also offer prayers to ancestors. Most temples are closed for the duration of the eclipse. Devotees gather for prayers along pilgrimage sites near holy rivers during the onset of an eclipse. The event is considered to be a good time for prayer, meditation and chanting of mantras—all believed to ward off evil.

Pedestrians walk near Sultan Ahmed mosque during a partial solar eclipse in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022. Throughout history, solar eclipses have had profound impact on adherents of various religions around the world. They were viewed as messages from **** or spiritual forces, inducing emotions ranging from dread to wonder. Credit: AP Photo/Emrah Gurel, File

Islam:

In Islam, a solar eclipse is a time to turn to **** and pray. The eclipse prayer is based on narrations of sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad.

Kaiser Aslam, ******* chaplain at the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers University, said one narration cited the prophet as saying: “The sun and the moon are two signs amongst the signs of ****** and they do not eclipse because of the ****** of someone. … Whenever you see these eclipses pray and invoke (******).”

The story was that “after the ****** of the Prophet Muhammad’s son, Ibrahim, his companions tried to comfort him by saying that the sun eclipsed due to the greatness of the loss,” Aslam said. “The Prophet corrected them by reminding them that the sun and moon are signs of **** and to not add any superstitions as to why an eclipse happens.”

On April 8, Aslam will lead the “kusuf” prayer on campus. Customarily, there’s a brief sermon after the prayer to explain the lessons behind it and dispel any superstitions around it, he added.

“It is a beautiful and meaningful prayer that emphasizes our relationship with ****’s creation, making sure to give our devotion to ****, instead of incidental occurrences in ****’s creation,” Aslam said.

Mahmoud Alhawary, an official with Al-Azhar’s Islamic Research Academy in Cairo, said it’s better for the eclipse prayer to be performed in congregation at the mosque, but that Muslims may also pray individually elsewhere.

The wisdom “is for the individual to seek refuge in ****, requesting the lifting of this affliction,” Alhawary said. “People should know that the occurrences of the whole universe are in ****’s hands.”

Judaism:

The Talmud—the collection of writings compiled more than 1,500 years ago that constitute ******* religious law—offers specific blessings for many natural phenomena, but not for eclipses. Instead, it depicts an eclipse as “an ill omen for the world.”

On Chabad.org—a website serving an Orthodox ******* audience—Chicago-based ****** Menachem Posner sought to view the Talmud passage in a modern context, given the consensus that eclipses are natural events that can be predicted centuries in advance.

“Eclipses should be opportunities to increase in prayer and introspection—as opposed to prompting joyous blessings,” Posner wrote. “It is a sign that we really could and should be doing better.”

Writing in early March for the Orthodox ******* education organization Aish, ****** Mordechai Becher noted that Judaism has longstanding interconnections with astronomy. He said there are three craters on the moon named after medieval rabbis with expertise in astronomy.

As for eclipses, Becher—an instructor at Yeshiva University—suggested they were made possible by **** for a profound reason.

“He created a system that would remind us regularly that our choices can create darkness, even at times when there should be light,” he wrote. “Our free will choices can create a barrier between us and the Divine light, but can also allow Divine light to be seen here.”

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