Partial solar eclipse a time of prayer and reflection for some Calgarians

Solar eclipse prayers For many cultures and religions a solar eclipse is a time for prayer and reflection. Brad MacLeod has the story.

A total solar eclipse is a rare event.

Calgarians went outside to watch as the partial solar eclipse passed over Calgary Monday but one group of devoted Calgarians missed the whole event.

Many members of Calgary’s Muslim community participated in a marathon prayer session which lasted the entire time the partial solar eclipse passed over Calgary.

“A very long quite physically taxing prayer,” says Abdul Souraya who participated in the prayer service. “Usually we get done within five to seven minutes. We stand first then we kneel then we go down but we stood up much longer and lot of the Quran was recited.”

It was the first time Fayaz Tilly Imam, Muslim Council of Calgary, led the prayer and he performed prayers for an hour while the eclipse was happening outside.

“We believe there will be an eclipse on the Day of Judgment,” says Tilly. “The day when all human beings will be resurrected and will be judged before the most fairest of judges;  the God who is the most loving God.”

Those who chose to pray on Monday stood for most of the long service.

“The coming together of the sun and the moon is not something that happens every single day obviously so when it does happen it sort of makes everyone stop and ponder but for us it’s a lot more important because it’s a manifestation of God’s power,” says Rulla Abbas who attended the prayer service.

As soon as the service was done; many rushed outside to see if they could catch the end of the eclipse.

“I’m not going to lie,” says Tilly. “I will be looking for some pictures later on this evening.”

The next solar eclipse will be in South America in 2019 and the next one to occur anywhere close to the Calgary area will be in the Central United States in 2024.