SMART SEJADAH FOR THE ELDERLY

Normah Zakaria1*,Nur Syahiirah Alias2, Masadliahani Masduki3, Norhasyimah Hamzah4,

Arihasnida Ariffin5, Siti Nur Kamariah Rubani6, Azmanirah Ab Rahman7 &
Rosnee Ahad8

Faculty of Technical and Vocational Education

Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia
*norma@uthm.edu.my

Abstract
Smart Sejadah is a tool that can count the number of rak’ah in prayers. This product can help to
reduce the problem of forgetting the number of rak’ah in prayers whereby it produces the output
each time prostration occurred in the prayer. Two times of prostrations will produce one rak’ah
and the number of rak’ah will increase with every two movements of prostrations. The
determination of the components in the circuit is carried out and drawn using the Proteus 8
Professional software. This research focuses on senior citizens to assist them in fulfilling their
prayers. The Design Thinking Process is chosen as the methodology of this project. A switch is
used as the signal detector for prostration movements and 7 segments display is used to display Commented [m1]: I’m not sure this is kata nama khas or
the total of rak’ah in the prayer. The Arduino Uno Microcontroller is used to control the entire am. Pls adjust capitalize each words/ small letters.
If kata nama am, 7 should be spelled as ‘seven’
circuits. The development of this project was able to achieve the desired output. In conclusion, this
Pls adjust this for the entire paper
product able to help the elderly who often face the problem of forgetting the number of rak’ah
besides able to improve the quality of their prayers.

Keywords: Senior citizens, forgetting number of rak’ah, device to count the number of rak’ah
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In 2017, Malaysia's population is estimated at 32.0 million people, which increases 1.3%,
compared to 2016. The percentage of residents aged 0-14 years in 2017 decreased to 24.1% from
24.5% in 2016. Meanwhile, the percentage of 15-64 years old population increased from 69.5% to
69.7% (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2017). The percentage of senior citizens’ population in
2017 is increased by 0.2% compared to 2016. The increased is shown in Figure 1.1 below whereby
the percentage of the population is 6.0% in 2016 and 6.2% in 2017.

Commented [m2]: Change to English figure

Figure 1.1: The age structure of Malaysian citizen (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2017) Commented [m3]: No ref

In Malaysia, senior citizens are defined as those aged 60 years and above based on the
definition made in the "World Assembly on Aging 1982" (Social Welfare Department, 2017). Commented [m4]: No ref
According to the Ministry of Women and Community Development (2017), senior citizens' health
can be attributed to certain features such as they are more likely to experience the reduced of
sensory acuteness. The daily needs of the elderly should be maintained, which include foods and
drinks, clothing, shelter, health and welfare. The convenience of senior citizens in performing their
worship also needs to be emphasized. If the health of the elderly is not at a satisfactory level, their
worship activities will be affected.
Salah or prayer is the duty for every Muslim. The definition of prayer according to syara'
is "some words and deeds that commenced with takbir and completed with greetings in specified
conditions". Rasulullah S.A.W. said, "The prayer is the pillar of religion, whoever set up prayer,
indeed he upholds religion and whoever abandons the prayer, indeed he demeans religion". Islam
treats prayers as a pillar of religion that can build firmness, faith, and piety in individuals (Saleh
Ahmad, 2008). Commented [m5]: No ref
According to Abd Rashid (2014), prayer is the main worship in Islam, because a prayer is Commented [m6]: 1. This is the fact that everybody
a form of slavery to Allah SWT and it is an obligatory duty for a Muslim to perform the daily knows, not only abd rashid
prayer 5 times in addition to fulfilling other obligations ordered by Allah SWT because every 2. If still want to make citation, pls make the ref also
creature created by Allah SWT in this world has its own responsibilities. In this regard, before a
prayer is performed, it is necessary to ensure that all prayer tools are in the perfect condition.
Among them, prayer mats or sejadah should be provided.
 According to the Second Edition of the Student's Dictionary (2005), a sejadah is a prayer Commented [m7]: No ref
mat (usually made of velvet). The definition of sejadah in Arabic, sajjada or musallah, is an
equipment made of cloth that usually has Islamic motives of pictures and patterns. It generally has
an enough large size to fit all parts of the body while performing prostration to keep clean during
prayer. The width of the prayer rug is generally 0.91 m × 1.5 m or 1.2 m × 1.8 m and has a variety
of patterns and colors.
Initially, it is not an obligation for Muslims to use a prayer mat during their prayer, but the
use of the prayer mat is aimed at maintaining cleanliness in Islam as an example of preventing
exposure to dust or germs on the floor. Praying using a prayer mat is one of the Sunnah Rasulullah
S.A.W that needs to be followed. This is because, Rasulullah S.A.W used to perform prayers on
the khumra, which is a kind of woven made of palm leaves (a small mat).
In conclusion, the use of a prayer mat during prayer is important to ensure cleanliness and
purity are maintained. This is because the mat is used to separate the floor and a clean individual
during prayer. The most popular hadith about hygiene means: Cleanliness is half of the faith
(Muslim History). In fact, the use of a prayer mat can increase the quality of the prayer because it
makes the prayer more khusyu’ and comfortable.

2.0 PROBLEM STATEMENT

There are 2.8 million senior citizens aged 60 years or nine percent 9% of the total population of
361 million Malaysians, according to the Department of Statistics, Malaysia (2016). Based on the
age structure of the population in Malaysia, the percentage of the ‘golden age’ population (60 years
and above) is increasing. The elderly often facing memory problems. As human beings, we are
unable to escape from the problem of forgetfulness or negligent even while worshiping Him.
Hence, when performing the prayer, there are some problems often encountered, such as the
confusion on the number of rak’ah in the prayer.
This is because elderly people are often associated with memory problems. Citizens and
guardians need to be aware of the normal physiological changes that occur in their body. The
changes that occur during the aging process include physical or physiological, psychological and
social changes as well as the deterioration of biological developments that occur naturally and
persistently (Kuczmarski, 1989). The memory problem experienced by the elderly is one of the Commented [m8]: No ref
psychological changes during the aging process, which is the problem of brain cell depletion that
causes forgetfulness, misgivings, senile and depression. They are more likely to experience a sense
of sensibility reduced (Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, 2017). Commented [m9]: No reference
Prayers are the main worship in Islam and the Muslims are obliged to do the prayers five
times a day. The individual who performs the prayer needs to fulfill all the principles which cover
the certain recitations and movements. The forgotten problem amongst the elderly is inevitable
because it is part of human nature. The effects of this problem are the errors in the number of
movements that need to be done during the prayer that can cause hesitation and affect the
perfection of the prayer. Therefore, if the individual had forgotten and left one of the sunnah
abadh, then he or she must perform sahwi prostration before giving salam (greeting which shows
the end of the prayer). The sahwi prostration is the prostration done twice after the completion of
the final Tahiyat reading and before salam is done to cover the defect in the implementation of the
prayer due to forgetting, and it is sunnah muakkad.
In conclusion, the forgetfulness problem can result in a feeling of doubtful and lead to the
loss of khusyu’ in the prayer of a Muslim. Thus, there is a need to develop a product that produces
a tool that can help the individual to count the number of rak’ah in every prayer time. Therefore,
to solve this problem, the researchers have proposed a tool that can benefit and help the senior
citizens to perform the perfect prayer without any doubt. The development of sajdah innovation
product that is smart sejadah, which serves as a rak’ah counter able to detect and display the
amount of rak’ah in the prayers. Besides reminding the total rak’ah in the prayer, it can also help
the elderly to improve the quality of their prayers.

3.0 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

To achieve the aim of this product development, a few objectives were identified:
(1) to design a prayer mat that can count the total rak’ah in a prayer.
(2) to develop a prayer mat that can count the total rak’ah in a prayer.
(3) to test the functionality of the prayer mat that can count the total rak’ah in a prayer.

4.0 METHODOLOGY
The design of the study is determined by the purpose of the study. According to Kerlinger (1970), Commented [m10]: No reference
the design of the study is a data processing procedure which collected based on the specific and
systematic planning towards the concept of establishing the relationship network between the
variables involved in the study. In this study, the Design Thinking Process Model was chosen by
the researchers. This was because, it is the most suitable model with the prototype that the
researchers will perform, and it is based on the work procedures contained in this model.

Emphatize Define Ideate Prototype) Test

Figure 1.2: Design Thinking Process Model

 Smart Sejadah Design

Figure 1.3: The upper view of Smart Sejadah

Figure 1.4: The front view of Smart Sejadah

Prostration
Display Area

Circuit Area

Figure 1.5: The drawing of the product design that used the Sketchup Software.
The Real Design of Smart Sejadah

Prostration
Area
Display

Circuit Area

Figure 1.6: Prototype Framework

 Flow Chart of the Development Process

START

Preliminary study

Problem identification

Planning and collecting

information

Identifying the circuit’s

hardware and software

Designing the product

Product testing No

Yes

Problem solved

END

Figure 1.7: Product Development Process Flow Chart

5.0 RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The findings show that feedbacks from respondents are positive, but improvements for this product
need to be done. The expert analysis was carried out based on the feedbacks given by three experts
after confirmations were made. This analysis was based on the feedbacks and answers provided
by all experts as well as the questionnaires provided by the researchers. Expert validation was
conducted by three experts; Dr. Azmanirah Binti Abdul Rahman (Senior Lecturer, Faculty of
Technical and Vocational Education), Prof. Madya Dr. Razali Bin Hassan (Associate Professor,
Faculty of Technical and Vocational Education) and Ustaz Ungku Ahya Bin Ungku Mohamad
(Community College Lecturer). The expert validation is aimed at validating the prototype
produced coinciding with the research objectives. The researchers divided the questionnaires into
three sections:

(i) Part A: Smart Sejadah design aspects

(ii) Part B: Smart Sejadah suitability aspects
(iii) Part C: Smart Sejadah functional aspects

1. Designing a prayer mat that can count the total of rak’ah in the prayers
The design phase of this smart sejadah prototype is based on the Design Thinking Process Model
that includes 5 stages; empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. Before designing, the
researchers have identified the users’ problems in the first place. Meanwhile, the researchers find
information that is related to the problems faced by the users. Then, the researchers make careful
plannings to design and develop a product that can solve the users’ problems. At this stage, the
researchers determined the parts of the circuit design and designed the smart sejadah prototype.
In the circuit development phase, the circuit is drawn using the Proteus software.
Meanwhile, for the prototype design, the researchers have chosen a velvet cloth to provide comfort
to the elderly when using it. The design is an essential basis in producing quality products. This is
because design activities involve combining science and technology applications together with
creative ideas to produce unique products with the best functionality in line with the development
of today's globalization (ARKIB, 2009). Commented [m11]: No ref
The researchers appointed three respondents for experts’ validation. All three experts have
agreed that the design of this product is able to track the number of rak’ah. However, some
improvements need to be made, especially in terms of the neatness of the circuit. There is also a
recommendation to develop a removable circuit so that the smart sejadah can be washed. It can be
concluded that this prototype is good, but a few improvements still need to be done.

2. Developing the prayer mat that can count the total of rak’ah in the prayers
In developing the Smart Sejadah prototype, the Push Button Switch Dip 4p was used to detect and
receive prostration signals while 7 segments display is used to show the number of prostrations.
For Arduino Uno microcontroller application, the use of microcontrollers is to control the entire
circuit in this product. The choice of micro control is very important as it is the major component
of this product. Uno type microcontroller selected in this product is based on the suitability of its
features.
Three experts agreed that there is a suitability of developing this product. For example, with
the development of this product, it can help the elderly to reduce the forgetfulness problem in their
prayers. This is because this product is suitable for individuals with a high level of negligence.
However, there are a few shortcomings that need to be improved. An opinion was given where the
developed product is not sturdy. Furthermore, there is a need to develop this product, but less
attention was given due to visual impairment in 7 segments display. In conclusion, the product has
been successfully developed but improvements must be made to ensure the quality of this product
and so that it is useful for the use of people.

3. Testing the functionality of the prayer mat that can count the total of rak’ah in the prayers
‘Test’ is the phase of testing the functionality of the developed product either functioning as
planned or otherwise. Testing was done by performing prayer activities with prostration on the
area that required for the prostration. At the top of the sejadah, there is a prostration area where
the part of the circuit has a 4p push button switch that works to detect and receive prostration
signals. After the prostration signal has been received, the 7 segments display will show the
number of rak'ah that has been performed.
In terms of the functionality, all three experts have agreed that this product is well
operating. The switch used in this product is appropriate and able to detect the number of
prostrations accordingly. However, experts believe that the prostration area should be enlarged.
Besides that, there is a little distortion on the visual of the 7 segments display. Meanwhile, experts
also argued that the counter can only count until four rak'ahs and it is necessary to add more, so
that it can count more than 4 rak'ahs for the use of other prayers such as tarawih prayer. In
conclusion, the entire circuit is well functioned. However, improvements must be made to increase
the quality of the product.

5.0 CONCLUSION
Smart Sejadah is one of the most important products to help senior citizens in performing their
prayers. The problem of forgetting the number of rak’ah in prayers amongst the elderly can be
reduced with this product. This product has two main parts which are the hardware and the
software. These two parts are pivotal and need to be adjusted accordingly to ensure the
effectiveness of the product that makes it complete.
Overall, this Smart Sejadah which uses a combination of key components like Arduino Uno
microcontroller, 7 segments display, and 4p push button switch has achieved its objectives. During
the product development process, there are some difficulties in getting good results. First, the
difficulty in programming. The codes used encountered few errors when inserted in the Arduino
software. However, the researchers tried to make new codes for better results. Various codes have
been entered before achieving the best result. Furthermore, the components used were often
interchangeable to fit with other components used. For instance, initially, the micro-controller that
was planned to use was a nano-microcontroller. However, the microcontroller cannot
accommodate the 7 segments display. This was because this type of microcontroller was only able
to accommodate small components. Therefore, the researchers have switched Arduino nano
microcontroller to Arduino Uno.
During the planning, an ultrasonic sensor was used to detect prostrations. Unfortunately,
there were some errors when using this type of detector. A problem occurs when the prostration
took longer time, causes the detector to continue reading and the display on the 7 segments display
continued to rise. Therefore, to solve the problem, the researchers have changed the ultrasonic
sensor to the Push Button Switch Dip 4p as the component to detect the prostration signals.
 However, this product has been successfully developed even though it took a long time.
Finally, it can be concluded that the product development process should be phased out to ensure
that the product produced is well-organized and well-functioning as planned.

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