Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

ASSALAM U ALIKUM wrt

dear brother burhan ,

thanx for responding to my previous queries there is one doubt i always had in my mind that if any muslim goes to space like on moon , mars or may be on space station for longer stay , what will be his timings of all salat and what will be his direction of prostration ..??

jazak ALLAH

ALLAH HAFIZ 

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Answer:

Pray on moon space

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: …..if any muslim goes to space like on moon , mars or may be on space station for longer stay , what will be his timings of all salat and what will be his direction of prostration ..??

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 149:

149 From whencesoever thou startest forth (for prayer) turn thy face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque; that is indeed the Truth from thy Lord. And Allah is not unmindful of what ye do.

If and when man develops the technology to enable man to approach or stay on the moon, or Mars, or any of the other heavenly bodies in space for a period of time, it should only be expected that man would have developed the technology by then to determine the direction from wherever they might be in space to the Sacred Mosque in Makkah. Wherever one happens to find oneself in one’s life, one is commanded by the Lord to turn their direction towards the Sacred Mosque in Makkah when they start their prayers.

The timings of prayers for those on earth are determined by the movement of the sun; if one lives on the earth where there is no clear distinction between day and night (like the Arctic or Antarctic regions), or one happens to travel into space, or (if and when) one happens to live on one amongst the heavenly bodies where there might or might not be a clear distinction between day and night….the absolute majority of the scholars and jurists in Islam are of the opinion that if one lives in a place where one is unable to clearly differentiate between day and night, one should align their prayer times with the prayer times of Makkah. And Allah Alone Knows Best.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan