AFP:
Before the voyage, Malaysia’s Department of Islamic Development issued a 20-page book of guidelines on observing Ramadan in space.
Otherwise, because the space station circles the Earth 16 times a day, a Muslim would theoretically have to pray 80 times a day.
The guidelines stipulate that the astronaut need only pray five times a day, just as on Earth, and that the times should follow the location from which the spacecraft blasted off — in this case, the Baikonur launch pad.
. . .
The booklet of Islamic guidelines that has been issued covers among other things washing rituals required before prayer, saying that if water is not available the astronaut can symbolically “sweep holy dust” onto the face and hands “even if there is no dust” in the space station.
There are also suggestions on how to pray in a zero-gravity environment.
“During the prayer ritual, if you can’t stand up straight, you can hunch. If you can’t stand, you can sit. If you can’t sit, you should lie down,” it says.
And in the unlikely event of a Muslim astronaut’s death, the body should be brought back to Earth for burial, failing which it should be “interred” in Space after a brief ceremony. No details of this are given.
