Last night, the Earth’s Eastern Hemisphere was treated not only to September’s naturally reddish moon but also to the spectacle of a total lunar eclipse.
Stargazers—myself included—across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, and parts of Europe witnessed the Moon glowing blood-red as Earth’s shadow fully engulfed it. It’s not every night that we get such a rare and breathtaking opportunity.
The Egyptian National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG) had announced earlier that Egypt and the wider Arab region would witness this eclipse on the evening of Sunday, September 7, 2025, coinciding with the full moon of Rabiʿ al-Awwal 1447 AH.
At the eclipse’s peak, Earth’s shadow covered the Moon completely, with the umbra extending to 136.2% of the lunar disk—a sign of how deeply the Moon was immersed in Earth’s shadow.
According to NRIAG, the entire phenomenon lasted about five hours and 27 minutes. The partial phases stretched over three hours and 29 minutes, while the total eclipse—the moment of the striking Blood Moon—remained visible for one hour and 22 minutes.
In Cairo, the eclipse unfolded according to NRIAG
The eclipse was visible across regions where the Moon was above the horizon at the time.
A total lunar eclipse occurs when Earth moves directly between the Sun and the Moon, casting its shadow across the lunar surface.
Instead of vanishing into darkness, the Moon takes on an otherworldly red or copper hue.
This happens because Earth’s atmosphere bends sunlight into the shadow, filtering out blue light and allowing only the warmer tones to reach the Moon.
The deep red glow, often called a “Blood Moon,” is the result of Earth’s natural filter.
Just as the sky turns red during sunrise or sunset, the Moon glows red during an eclipse.
Dust, smoke, or volcanic particles in the atmosphere can intensify the effect, making the Moon appear darker or a richer shade of crimson.
When a lunar eclipse coincides with the September full moon—often called the Harvest Moon—the spectacle becomes even more dramatic.
The Moon tends to rise lower on the horizon during this season, passing through thicker layers of Earth’s atmosphere.
This not only enhances its size to the human eye but also adds an extra reddish tint, amplifying the eclipse’s natural glow.
Total lunar eclipses don’t happen every month, but they are not once-in-a-lifetime events either.
Globally, one occurs every year or two, though from any single location, the experience may only come around once every few years.
When one aligns with the September skies, the result is a breathtaking fusion of cosmic mechanics and seasonal atmosphere—a Blood Moon that feels perfectly timed with autumn’s arrival
Egypt’s Ministry of Awqaf announced that lunar eclipse prayers would be held on the evening of Sunday, September 7, 2025, in major mosques across the country.
The initiative comes as part of reviving the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in observing celestial phenomena.
The ministry instructed its regional directorates to organize the prayer at the designated time, underscoring the role of mosques in spreading prophetic guidance and strengthening the connection of people with the traditions of the Prophet.
According to the ministry, the lunar eclipse prayer is a confirmed Sunnah practiced by the Prophet (PBUH) himself.
It consists of two rak‘ahs, with each rak‘ah including two standings, two recitations of Al-Fatiha and other Qur’anic verses, two bows, and two prostrations.
The prayer is traditionally performed with lengthy recitations, bowings, and prostrations, and it is recommended that the recitation be audible.
Ancient Egyptians did observe lunar eclipses, but their religious and cultural approach was very different from Islamic practice today.
Already, most of the recorded mythology about eclipses relates to the sun rather than the moon, as the ancient Egyptians believed Apep (Apophis) tried to devour the sun god Ra during his nightly journey.
So ancient Egyptian Priests and common people performed rituals and recited spells (like those found in the “Book of Overthrowing Apep”) to help Ra overcome the serpent and to restore cosmic order (Maat).
For lunar eclipses, sources are much rarer. Egyptians certainly observed them, but they left fewer direct records than for solar eclipses.
For the ancient Egyptians, the moon was personified by deities such as Khonsu (a lunar god who is the son of Amun and Mut, often depicted as a child or a falcon-headed figure) and sometimes linked to Thoth (god of wisdom, time, and the moon).
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| King Tut, son of Akhentan as Khonsu at the Egyptian Museum of Cairo |
A lunar eclipse wasn’t viewed as a natural phenomenon to study or a chance for communal worship, but as a dangerous event—an omen, or a cosmic disruption.
Needless to say, I lean toward a simpler explanation. Most ancient Egyptians were farmers and peasants who went to bed early so they could rise at dawn to work in the fields, which likely meant they missed many lunar eclipses altogether.
This changed in Islamic Egypt, however, where blood moons became major events, stirring both fear and fascination across society.
Medieval chroniclers in Egypt paid close attention to blood moons, often treating them as ominous signs tied to politics, plague, and upheaval.
In 1250 CE, shortly after the assassination of Turan Shah, the last Ayyubid sultan, Cairo witnessed a red lunar eclipse that many saw as a reflection of the bloody chaos of the Mamluk takeover. Later, in 1290 CE, Al-Maqrizi recorded another deep red moon during Sultan Qalawun’s era, which was soon followed by outbreaks of disease and political turmoil.
The association between celestial events and earthly fate continued for centuries.
Ibn Iyas described a blood-red eclipse over Cairo in 1441 CE that filled mosques with crowds performing Salat al-Khusuf, warning of famine and plague—both of which soon struck Egypt. He also wrote of another eclipse in 1504 CE, just before the Ottoman conquest, when the moon “turned to blood over Cairo.”
For Egyptians of the time, such spectacles were never just natural phenomena, but cosmic warnings that the order of the world was shifting.
Now here is a very bad and short attempt of mine to film the total eclipse.
I think I need two tripods to get it right so I can film the total eclipse using the timelapse while photographing it
Now I can’t help but wonder what this September’s blood moon might bring us.
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