Short answer: the Quran asks people again and again to look at the sky and think. It describes Allah creating the heavens and the earth in six days, building the heaven "with strength" and expanding it, and setting the sun and the moon each "in an orbit, swimming". Scholars have read these verses in more than one way, and the Quran is a book of guidance, not a physics textbook, so this page shows what the verses say and how they were understood. Travelling into space is allowed, and Muslim astronauts have prayed and kept Ramadan in orbit.
An invitation to look up
إِنَّ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱخْتِلَٰفِ ٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ لَءَايَٰتٍۢ لِّأُو۟لِى ٱلْأَلْبَٰبِ
Inna fee khalqis samaawati wal ardi wakhtilaafil laili wannahaari la Aayaatil liulil albaab
"Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding."
Quran 3:190 · translation by Sahih International
The next verse says these people reflect on creation and say: "Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly" (3:191). Looking at the universe is worship when it leads back to its Creator.
The beginning of the heavens and the earth
أَوَلَمْ يَرَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ كَانَتَا رَتْقًۭا فَفَتَقْنَٰهُمَا ۖ وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ ٱلْمَآءِ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ حَىٍّ ۖ أَفَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
Awalam yaral lazeena kafarooo annas samaawaati wal arda kaanataa ratqan faftaqnaahumaa wa ja'alnaa minal maaa'i kulla shai'in haiyin afalaa yu'minoon
"Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were a joined entity, and We separated them and made from water every living thing? Then will they not believe?"
Quran 21:30 · translation by Sahih International
Early exegetes read this in two ways. In reports from Ibn Abbas, the heavens were "closed" and gave no rain, and the earth was "closed" and grew nothing, then Allah opened the one with rain and the other with plants. Others said the heavens and the earth were one mass that Allah split apart. Many modern Muslims see the second reading as fitting the scientific picture of a universe that began from a single state.
ثُمَّ ٱسْتَوَىٰٓ إِلَى ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَهِىَ دُخَانٌۭ فَقَالَ لَهَا وَلِلْأَرْضِ ٱئْتِيَا طَوْعًا أَوْ كَرْهًۭا قَالَتَآ أَتَيْنَا طَآئِعِينَ
Summas tawaaa ilas-samaaa'i wa hiya dukhaanun faqaala lahaa wa lil ardi'tiyaaa taw'an aw karhan qaalataaa atainaa taaa'i'een
"Then He directed Himself to the heaven while it was smoke and said to it and to the earth, "Come [into being], willingly or by compulsion." They said, "We have come willingly.""
Quran 41:11 · translation by Sahih International
The Quran also says Allah created the heavens and the earth "in six days" (7:54), and that a day with Allah can be "like a thousand years of those which you count" (22:47), so many scholars read the six days as six periods.
Is the universe expanding?
وَٱلسَّمَآءَ بَنَيْنَٰهَا بِأَيْي۟دٍۢ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ
Wassamaaa'a banainaa haa bi aydinw wa innaa lamoosi'oon
"And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are [its] expander."
Quran 51:47 · translation by Sahih International
The word musi'un comes from a root meaning width and vastness. Many classical exegetes read it as "We are vast in power" or "We are able to make it wider", and some as "We give provision in abundance". Since the twentieth century, when astronomers found that galaxies are moving apart, many Muslims have read it as "We are expanding it". The Arabic allows that reading, and Sahih International's translation follows it. What we should avoid is claiming that the early scholars read it that way, or that the verse was written to teach cosmology. Our page on the miracles of the Quran explains why the Quran's real challenge is its guidance and its language.
The sun, the moon and their orbits
وَٱلشَّمْسُ تَجْرِى لِمُسْتَقَرٍّۢ لَّهَا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ تَقْدِيرُ ٱلْعَزِيزِ ٱلْعَلِيمِ وَٱلْقَمَرَ قَدَّرْنَٰهُ مَنَازِلَ حَتَّىٰ عَادَ كَٱلْعُرْجُونِ ٱلْقَدِيمِ لَا ٱلشَّمْسُ يَنۢبَغِى لَهَآ أَن تُدْرِكَ ٱلْقَمَرَ وَلَا ٱلَّيْلُ سَابِقُ ٱلنَّهَارِ ۚ وَكُلٌّۭ فِى فَلَكٍۢ يَسْبَحُونَ
Wash-shamsu tajree limustaqarril lahaa; zaalika taqdeerul 'Azeezil Aleem · Walqamara qaddarnaahu manaazila hattaa 'aada kal'ur joonil qadeem · Lash shamsu yambaghee lahaaa an tudrikal qamara wa lal lailu saabiqun nahaar; wa kullun fee falaki yasbahoon
"And the sun runs [on course] toward its stopping point. That is the determination of the Exalted in Might, the Knowing. And the moon - We have determined for it phases, until it returns [appearing] like the old date stalk. It is not allowable for the sun to reach the moon, nor does the night overtake the day, but each, in an orbit, is swimming."
Quran 36:38-40 · translation by Sahih International
The same image, "all [heavenly bodies] in an orbit are swimming", appears in 21:33. The word falak was used by the Arabs for the round path of the stars. The verses also teach why the moon matters to Muslims: its phases make the months, and the months fix Ramadan, the Eids and Hajj. See moon sighting and the Islamic calendar.
The seven heavens
ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَٰوَٰتٍۢ طِبَاقًۭا ۖ مَّا تَرَىٰ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ مِن تَفَٰوُتٍۢ ۖ فَٱرْجِعِ ٱلْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرَىٰ مِن فُطُورٍۢ
Allazee khalaqa sab'a samaawaatin tibaaqam maa taraa fee khalqir rahmaani min tafaawutin farji'il basara hal taraa min futoor
"[And] who created seven heavens in layers. You do not see in the creation of the Most Merciful any inconsistency. So return [your] vision [to the sky]; do you see any breaks?"
Quran 67:3 · translation by Sahih International
The nearest heaven is adorned with stars (67:5), and most scholars say everything astronomers can see lies within it. Read the seven heavens in Islam for the details, including who the Prophet ﷺ met in each heaven on the night of the Miraj.
Muslim astronomers
Because prayer times, the qibla and the months depend on the sky, Muslims studied it with care for centuries:
- Al-Battani (died 929) measured the length of the solar year with great accuracy and improved the tables of the planets.
- Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi wrote the Book of Fixed Stars in 964, with the earliest known description of the Andromeda galaxy, which he called "a small cloud".
- Al-Biruni (died about 1048) measured the size of the earth and wrote on the instruments used to find the qibla.
- Many stars still carry Arabic names, such as Aldebaran, Altair, Deneb and Rigel.
This is astronomy, which Islam encourages, not astrology, which it forbids. See astrology in Islam.
Is space travel allowed?
يَٰمَعْشَرَ ٱلْجِنِّ وَٱلْإِنسِ إِنِ ٱسْتَطَعْتُمْ أَن تَنفُذُوا۟ مِنْ أَقْطَارِ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ فَٱنفُذُوا۟ ۚ لَا تَنفُذُونَ إِلَّا بِسُلْطَٰنٍۢ
Yaa ma'sharal jinni wal insi inis tata'tum an tanfuzoo min aqtaaris samaawaati wal ardi fanfuzoo; laa tanfuzoona illaa bisultaan
"O company of jinn and mankind, if you are able to pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass. You will not pass except by authority [from Allah]."
Quran 55:33 · translation by Sahih International
Most exegetes read this verse as a challenge about the Day of Judgement: no one can escape Allah's reach. Some modern writers add that "authority" (sultan) can mean knowledge and power, which people would need to travel into space. Either way, nothing in the Quran or Sunnah forbids space travel, and scholars treat it like any other permitted journey.
Prince Sultan bin Salman of Saudi Arabia became the first Muslim in space in 1985. When the Malaysian astronaut Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor flew to the International Space Station in 2007, during Ramadan, Malaysia's National Fatwa Council published guidance for worship in orbit. In short:
- Qibla: face the Kaaba if you can; if not, its direction projected outward; if not, the earth; if not, any direction.
- Prayer times: follow the times of the place the astronaut launched from, since the station circles the earth many times a day.
- Wudu: with a little water on a cloth, or tayammum if water cannot be used.
- Posture: stand if possible, otherwise pray in whatever position you can, as anyone unable to stand does.
- Fasting: an astronaut is a traveller and may make up the fasts later.
The UAE's Hazza Al Mansouri flew to the station in 2019, and Sultan Al Neyadi spent about six months there in 2023, through Ramadan. He explained that as a traveller he was not required to fast. These rulings rest on principles every school shares: Allah "does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity" (2:286).
FAQ
Does the Quran say the universe is expanding?
Quran 51:47 says "the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are [its] expander." Many modern readers take this as expansion; many classical exegetes read it as Allah's vast power. The Arabic allows both.
Is space travel haram?
No. Nothing in the Quran or Sunnah forbids it. Scholars treat it as a permitted journey, with the normal rules for travellers.
How do Muslim astronauts pray?
Following Malaysia's 2007 guidance: face the Kaaba or the earth as far as possible, use the times of the launch site, make wudu with a damp cloth or tayammum, and pray in whatever position is possible.
Is there life in space according to Islam?
The Quran neither states nor denies life on other planets. See our page on alien life in Islam for the verses and how scholars read them.
What is beyond the universe in Islam?
Islam teaches that above the seven heavens are the Kursi and the Throne of Allah. These are matters of the unseen, known only through revelation.
Sources
- On 21:30 and 51:47: Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Quran al-Azim, and al-Tabari, Jami al-Bayan, on each verse.
- Malaysia, National Fatwa Council (Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan) and JAKIM, A Guideline of Performing Ibadah at the International Space Station, 2007.
- On al-Battani, al-Sufi and al-Biruni: standard histories of Islamic astronomy, such as the entries in the Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers (Springer).
- On Sultan Al Neyadi and fasting: his public statements during the 2023 mission, reported by UAE media.
- Quran 3:190 to 191, 21:30, 41:11, 7:54, 22:47, 51:47, 36:38 to 40, 21:33, 67:3, 67:5, 55:33 and 2:286, Arabic from the Uthmani text, translation by Sahih International.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.