In 2007, Malaysia sent its first astronaut to the International Space Station. His name was Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor — an orthopedic surgeon selected from 11,000 applicants. His mission happened to fall during Ramadan.
That created a problem no one had ever solved before.
The ISS orbits Earth every 90 minutes — 16 complete orbits every single day. That means 16 sunrises and 16 sunsets. Islamic prayer times are tied to the movement of the sun. If followed literally in space, a Muslim astronaut would be required to pray 80 times in a single day — once every 18 minutes.
So Malaysia did something extraordinary. A full year before launch, the government assembled 150 Islamic scholars, scientists, and astronauts for a two-day conference. The sole purpose: figure out how a devout Muslim prays in space.
They produced an 18-page document called "Guidelines for Performing Islamic Rites at the International Space Station." It covered prayer times, the direction of Mecca, zero-gravity prostration, and Ramadan fasting. The ruling: pray five times a day based on the time zone of your launch site — Kazakhstan. For the Qibla direction, face the Earth. If you can't, face anywhere and pray with intention.
Sheikh Muszaphar prayed all five prayers every day aboard the ISS. After landing, he said he had no difficulties.
One man. 250 miles above Earth. Ramadan. Zero gravity. And 150 scholars made sure he didn't have to face it alone.
Great travel tips dari saudara Khairul Aming 👇🏻
Kalau pergi ke New Zealand (atau mana-mana negara yang pemeriksaan kastam agak ketat), buat list bahan masakan yang dibawa.
Ini akan memudahkan urusan di lapangan terbang & Alhamdulillah barangan yang mereka bawa tak dirampas 👍🏻