Prayer time in Islam is determined by one’s geographic position on Earth as the astronomical positions of the sun and moon. Muslims find it a challenge to find the right prayer time in a mission to explore outer space.
By
MUCHAMAD ZAID WAHYUDI
·8 minutes read
NASA
United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi is in the Kibo module of the International Space Station (ISS) on March 4, 2023.
Muslims are obliged to pray five times a day. During the month of Ramadan, they are also prescribed to fast from sunrise to sunset or from the time prior to subuh (dawn prayer) to maghrib (sunset prayer). However, on the International Space Station (ISS), prayer time is disrupted because astronauts on the ISS experience 16 shifts between sunrise and sunset in 24 hours.
Of the more than 600 people who have been in outer space, either in a mission as astronauts or riding along as tourists, almost 2 percent are Muslims. As the Islamic countries’ economic performances are progressing and the United States and Russia's space programs are diversifying, it is believed the number of Muslim astronauts will continue to grow. One in every four of Earth's population is Muslim.
The first Muslim to be in outer space was Sultan bin Salman Al Saud (66) from Saudi Arabia. He launched on 17 June, 1985, with space shuttle Discovery for a seven-day mission. The son of Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, he was also the first Arab and royal member of the space program.
As reported by Space on 23 March, 2023, the Muslim who is currently on the ISS is Sultan Al Neyadi (41) from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He had joined the Crew-6 mission on SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehicle, which blasted to outer space on 2 March and docked at the ISS a day later. The UAE's second astronaut will serve on the ISS for the next six months.
The faith-related problem faced by Muslim astronauts is how they can find proper time and navigate the qibla (direction to Kaaba, the sacred cubical building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia), especially in the five daily prayers. On Earth, prayer times are determined based on the position or motion of the Sun seen from congregants’ geographical location. The starting time of a month in the Islamic calendar is based on the appearance of the first crescent of the “dead” moon (the time when there is no solar reflection, leaving the lunar face in darkness. The dark lasts about three days before the new crescent appears).
The rules about prayer time and qibla direction become irrelevant and inapplicable in outer space. Astronomically, subuh in Indonesia comes when the sun is 20 degrees below the horizon. Duhur (midday prayer) time begins two minutes after the sun is projected overhead, and maghrib sets in when the sun is one degree below the horizon.
It is difficult to apply the prayer time on the ISS because the ISS orbits the Earth at an altitude of 413 kilometers to 422 km. The spacecraft, which has been inhabited since 2000, is traveling at 27,600 km per hour or 7.66 km per second, so the ISS only takes 93 minutes to complete one orbit of the Earth. In 24 hours, it goes around the Earth 15-16 times. This means astronauts on the ISS see the sun rise and set 15-16 times a day.
ADRYAN YOGA PARAMADWYA
The first tarawih prayer at the Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta, Wednesday (22/3/2023). The government has set 1 Ramadhan 1444 H to fall on March 23, 2023.
According to Thomas Djamaluddin, a research professor of astronomy and astrophysics of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), the air layer becomes very thin on the ISS. "[As a result] sunlight is almost nonexistent, dawn and dusk become difficult to recognize and the shift between dawn and dusk is very fast," he said on Thursday (23/3/2023).
The limited scattering of sunlight allows those on the ISS to see the sun and other stars at the same time. On Earth, the strong scattering of sunlight makes starlight invisible during the day. Even the light of the moon on a bright day looks paler.
The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) issued the guidelines on how to pray in outer space when the country’s astronaut Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor joined the space mission on 10 October, 2007. Muszaphar took off to the ISS in Russia's Soyuz TMA-11 from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.
In its fatwa, Jakim said prayers could be performed according to the time at which the spacecraft blasted off. In the case of Muszaphar, he could use the prayer times in Kazakhstan as guidance. Meanwhile, Al Neyadi, who launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Brevard county, Florida, the United States, used the Florida-based prayer schedule.
If possible, they pray facing in the direction of Mecca, but if it is difficult because the ISS is moving very fast, they simply try to face the Earth or any other direction. Muslim prayer is normally done by standing with several other body movements. However, in the case of emergency, flexibility applies, with the prayer allowed to be done in sitting or side-or-back lying position, even if movement is only restricted to eyelids’ gesture.
On the ISS, it is unlikely to be able to stand upright with feet flat on the floor like on Earth. In a microgravity environment, the body floats in any position, which provides a prayer challenge as Sultan bin Salman recounts in his book Seven Days in Space (2019), which was published 35 years after his voyage. He used to tie his feet during prayer with a special strap that enabled his body to stand upright.
Sujud [prostration] is impossible because it would cause dizziness.
Other prayer movements, such as bowing and prostrating, are also more intricate to do. “Sujud [prostration] is impossible because it would cause dizziness,” said Sultan bin Salman, as quoted by the Turkish news agency Anadolu on 30 April, 2020. The only thing that can be done as replacement for prostration is to hunch the upper body.
Praying procedure on the ISS is in principle similar to that on an airplane or in a normal environment but under emergency conditions due to illness or other obstacles. The difference is air passengers are still in day and night cycle. Praying constraints apart, astronauts and air passengers, according to Djamaluddin, can be categorized as travelers or people on a trip, who are given flexibility in carrying out their obligations, such as combining the two prayer times, namely dhuhur with asar and maghrib with isya. For prayers that consist of four units, namely dhuhur, asar and isya, they can be summarized into two units.
AP PHOTO/VINCENT THIAN
A women looks out from a observation deck as members of the Malaysian Islamic authority perform "Rukyah Hilal Ramadan," the sighting of the new moon to determine the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, March 22, 2023. During Ramadan, Muslims worldwide marked by fasting, abstaining from foods, sex and smoking from dawn to dusk.
Postponement
While the five daily prayers are given shorter units, Ramadan fasting can be postponed and compensated for later upon returning to Earth. This waiver also applies to Muslims on Earth who are on a long-distance trip or sick during Ramadan, or to women due to menstrual cycle.
According to the rules, astronauts should have enough nutritional intake, and are required to have meals three times a day while in space. Sultan bin Salman once tried fasting in outer space and it turned out to be far more challenging than fasting on Earth. At that time, he was traveling on the 29th day of Ramadan and the Discovery shuttle ship flew at an altitude of 387 km.
Even though the mufti of Saudi Arabia Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Baz issued a fatwa that allowed Sultan bin Salman not to fast during Ramadan, he was curious to find out what happened to the body when fasting in outer space.
As a result, the Ramadan fasting on the first day of the space voyage left him exhausted due to lack of sleep. A good night's sleep is harder to come by in a microgravity environment. In addition, he also felt thirsty due to loss of fluids. However, he managed to complete his fasting with reference to the fasting time in Florida with sweet and sour chicken as his breakfast.
Al Neyadi also postponed the fasting obligation during Ramadan while in space. He was quoted by CNN on 22 March, 2023, as saying if fasting could jeopardize the mission or endanger other flight crew, astronauts were allowed to eat food to maintain adequate nutrition and fluids.
He had been previously determined to try fasting as he said during a media briefing in Houston, Texas, the US, on 25 January, 2023, and was quoted by Space, on 21 February, 2023. Al Neyadi said if he had had the opportunity to fast in the month of Ramadan, then he would certainly not want to miss the opportunity.
Worship guidance in outer space, both prayers and fasting, is not designed to burden the astronauts, but help them fully concentrate on the tasks assigned during the mission.
Before his launch, Muszaphar was quoted as saying in the “Muslim in Outer Space” article on the Harvard Theological School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, the US, website, in 2018, the priority for astronauts was to carry out various experiments during the mission.
Worship guidance in outer space, both prayers and fasting, is not designed to burden the astronauts, but help them fully concentrate on the tasks assigned during the mission. The guidance also aims to provide the astronauts with psychological assuredness so they can still be faithful to their religious beliefs in an unusual environment.
