Eclipse prayer to be performed nationwide on Sun night

The Islamic Ministry has instructed local authorities in all residential islands to make arrangements to perform congregational eclipse prayer or Salat al-Khusuf on Sunday night.

The world will witness a rare total lunar eclipse ‘blood moon’ on Sunday night, with Maldives among countries expected to enjoy clearest visibility of the astronomical phenomenon.

In a circular issued on Thursday, the Islamic Ministry said the lunar eclipse will begin at 08:28 pm local time, peaking at 11:11 pm, and ending at 01:55 am.

The ministry asked local councils to arrange for congregational eclipse prayer to be held at the biggest mosque in all residential islands at 11:12 pm Sunday.

The sermon for the prayer has been shared on the ministry’s website, reads the circular.

A ‘blood moon’ occurs during a total lunar eclipse, when the sun, Earth, and moon align in sequence. During this alignment, long wavelengths of sunlight pass through Earth's atmosphere and are bent toward the moon, casting it in a reddish glow that can appear similar to the color of blood.

Astronomy expert Abdulla Raheed (Linet) said that the Maldives is one of the countries where Sunday's 'blood moon' will be most clearly visible.

“The reason behind this is the fact that the moon will be positioned 13 degrees east of Male’ City’s longitude and six degrees south of latitude at 23:12pm when the eclipse will be at its peak, resulting in the moon being positioned directly above at the center of Male',” he said.

According to Rasheed, the eclipse will be visible to the naked eye starting from 9:27 pm local time, and end at around 12:56 am.

Rasheed added that while it is not expected to rain on Sunday, it might be cloudy.