Muhammad's eclipse

Muhammad's eclipse was an annular solar eclipse that occurred on January 27, 632, and was visible across parts of East Africa, North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, the Far East, and Siberia. This eclipse is especially relevant to the history of Islam as it is identified as the eclipse that occurred during the life of the final Islamic prophet, Muhammad, upon the death of his youngest son, Ibrahim. It is exclusively documented in Islamic sīrah (biographies of Muhammad) and hadith literature.

A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the apparent diameter of the Moon is smaller than that of the Sun, presenting as the Moon blocking most, but not all, of the Sun's light and causing the Sun to look like an annulus (ring). This eclipse had a magnitude of 0.9836.

Within Islamic sources
The occurrence of the eclipse during the life of Islamic prophet Muhammad earned it the epithet 'Muhammad's eclipse'. The eclipse is well-documented in early Islamic sources, but no references to it have been found elsewhere. The eclipse occurred around the time of the death of Muhammad's youngest son, Ibrahim, who was 18 months old. Rumours of God's personal condolence quickly arose. It was also believed in pre-Islamic Arabia that eclipses occurred at the death of a great man. Muhammad denied the rumours and rejected the pre-Islamic beliefs.

Eclipse prayer and sermon
Muslims believe the eclipse prayer performed during solar and lunar eclipses was first performed by Muhammad during this eclipse, thereafter becoming a sunnah. A hadith narrated by Abd Allah ibn Amr ibn al-As in Sunan Abi Dawud asserts that Muhammad performed the prayer from when the eclipse was observed until the sun was clear. Narrations by Jabir ibn Abd Allah, Asma bint Abi Bakr, and Abu Musa al-Ash'ari in Sunan an-Nasa'i, Sahih Muslim, and Sahih al-Bukhari, respectively, also describe a long prayer with Muhammad having stood, bowed, and prostrated for long periods of time.

Muhammad delivered a khutbah (sermon) following the prayer, saying:

"The sun and the moon are two of God’s signs; they are not eclipsed on account of anyone’s death or on account of anyone's birth, so when you see that, supplicate God, declare His greatness, pray, and give alms. [...] O people of Muhammad, I swear by God that no one is more indignant than God when His servant or handmaiden commits fornication. O people of Muhammad, I swear by God that if you knew what I know you would laugh little and weep much."