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A lunar eclipse is referred to as Khusoof خسوف in Arabic and occurs when the earth blocks the sun’s light causing its shadow to fall on the moon and this only happens on a full moon day.
During a lunar eclipse, the sun, the earth and the moon come in a straight line with the earth between the sun and the moon. Thus preventing the sun’s light from reaching the moon and the earth’s shadow falls onto the moons surface making it appear darker.
A blood moon is a total lunar eclipse and the moon appears to have a reddish hue from the sunlight filtering through the earth’s atmosphere, therefore the term blood moon is attributed to this reddish colour of the moon.
Usually lasts for 3 hours, inshaa Allah, if Allah Ta’laa wills in South Africa it is expected to start at 3:32am, 14th Shawwal 1443 corresponding to 16th May 2022 with the total eclipse beginning at 5.29 am
It is sunnah for a believer to read two rakaats individually at home without jama’at as it is not sunnah for a lunar eclipse and this salaah is known as ‘Salaatul Khusoof‘ (However this should be performed before the time of Fajr sets in or after the sunrise depending on the ending of the eclipse)
