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The issue of the qibla in outer space arose publicly before the spaceflight of Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, a Malaysian surgeon who is a devout Muslim, who went on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in October 2007. The ISS orbits the earth at high speed, so that the direction to Mecca changes significantly in a matter of seconds. Before his departure, Sheikh Muzsaphar requested guidance from Malaysian religious authorities about the performance of Islamic practices in space, including how to pray, fast, and determine the qibla. The Malaysian National Fatwa Council wrote a response that was intended to be used as guidelines for future Muslim astronauts, and which has been translated into multiple languages. The council recommended four options, saying that Sheikh Muzsaphar should pray toward the first option if possible and, if not, fall back successively on the later ones:

1. . the Kaaba itself
2. . the position directly above the Kaaba at the altitude of the astronaut's orbit
3. . the Earth in general
4. . "wherever"

In line with the fatwa council, other Muslim scholars argue for the importance of flexibility and adapting the qibla requirement to what an astronaut is capable of fulfilling. Khaleel Muhammad of the San Diego State University opined "God does not take a person to task for that which is beyond his/her ability to work with". Kamal Abdali argued that concentration during a prayer is more important than the exact orientation, and he suggested keeping the qibla direction at the start of a prayer instead of "worrying about possible changes in position". Before Sheikh Muszaphar's mission, at least eight Muslims had flown to space, but none of them publicly discussed issues relating to worship in space.