Chapter Four: The Direction of Prayer

باب القبلة

بَابُ الْقِبْلَةِ — The Chapter on the Qibla

This chapter concerns the qibla [the direction faced in prayer].

Allah Most High said:

فَلَنُوَلِّيَنَّكَ قِبْلَةً تَرْضٰىهَا ۠ فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ ؕ وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنْتُمْ فَوَلُّوْا وُجُوْهَكُمْ شَطْرَهٗ

(al-Baqara 2:144 — printed "Āyat 144, Sūrat al-Baqara")

Vocabulary: fa-la-nuwalliyannaka — so We shall turn you, We shall give you the command to turn; qiblatan tarḍāhā — towards that qibla with which you are pleased, which you desire (because the honour of being the direction of prostration was to belong to the Kaʿba); fa-walli wajhaka — so now turn your face; shaṭra al-masjidi al-ḥarām — towards al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, i.e., in the direction of the sacred mosque; shaṭr — direction (the Ḥaram of the Kaʿba is sacred; there it is not right to cut trees or to hunt, and fighting and quarrelling are absolutely ḥarām); ḥaythu — where; ḥaythu mā kuntum — wherever you are; fa-wallū — then turn your faces.

Translation: So We shall surely turn you towards the qibla that you like. So (in prayer) turn your face towards al-Masjid al-Ḥarām; and (O Muslims!) wherever you may be, turn your faces (in prayer) towards it.

Friends! There are two possibilities regarding the change of qibla, because the qibla was changed twice: first from the Kaʿba, and second from Bayt al-Maqdis [Jerusalem]. The preferred view is that Bayt al-Maqdis is meant here. The Kaʿba is the permanent qibla; it is the qibla of Ādam, Ibrāhīm (peace be upon them) and Muḥammad ﷺ. As a test, Bayt al-Maqdis had been made the qibla for a few days. Since now neither are the Jews and Christians upon guidance, nor is Bayt al-Maqdis the centre of guidance — the Muslims are the best umma and the Kaʿba is the centre of guidance. The Jews and Christians are also of differing opinions among themselves concerning the qibla. So what right have they to raise objections about the qibla of the Muslims? The idol-worshippers have hundreds and thousands of qiblas; then where is their right to open their mouths? For the Muslims, being directly in front of the Kaʿba is not a condition at all; it is enough if the direction is found. If the direction is uncertain, then prayer offered facing whichever way one faces is valid — though one must certainly try to estimate the direction. If, God forbid, the building of the Kaʿba were to collapse, the prayer of the Muslims would not stop, because the purpose of the qibla is only the jāmiʿ direction (the direction that unites), not the walls of the Kaʿba. For the people of Madīna the qibla is between east and west (i.e., towards the south). For us people of Hind [India] it is between north and south (i.e., towards the west), and for the people of Hyderabad the qibla-indicator [compass] inclines 12½ degrees from the west towards the north. [reading uncertain] In short, before the Hijra, as long as the Noble Prophet ﷺ was in Makka, he used to pray in such a way that his face was towards both the Kaʿba and Bayt al-Maqdis. After coming to Madīna Ṭayyiba, for sixteen or seventeen months he prayed, in accordance with the command of God Most High, facing Bayt al-Maqdis alone. But in his

heart this very thought kept arising again and again: if only there were the command to pray facing the noble Kaʿba.

This manner of His Beloved ﷺ pleased Allah Most High; this longing was liked, and the command to change the qibla came at a time when he ﷺ was praying ʿAṣr on 15 Shaʿbān 2 AH, with his face towards Bayt al-Maqdis. [reading uncertain] Ḥaḍrat Jibrīl (peace be upon him) came and submitted: "O Prophet! The command of Allah Most High is: 'Turn your face, in this very state of prayer, towards Bayt Allāh, that is, the noble Kaʿba. Your turning your face towards the sky again and again in longing was very pleasing to Us.'" Accordingly the Noble Prophet ﷺ turned his face that way while still in the prayer, and all the Companions who were in the prayer with him also turned their faces along with the Master ﷺ. The place where he performed this prayer is called "Masjid al-Qiblatayn" [the Mosque of the Two Qiblas], and it is situated on a height near the mountain of Uḥud. In this mosque the mark of the old qibla is still on the wall (on the north wall), and the miḥrāb of the new qibla is built into the south wall.☆

عَنِ الْبَرَاءِ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ اَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ اَوَّلَ مَا تَقَدَّمَ الْمَدِيْنَةَ نَزَلَ عَلٰى اَجْدَادِهٖ اَوْ قَالَ اَخْوَالِهٖ مِنَ الْاَنْصَارِ ۔ وَاَنَّهٗ صَلّٰى قِبَلَ بَيْتِ الْمَقْدِسِ سِتَّةَ عَشَرَ شَهْرًا اَوْ سَبْعَةَ عَشَرَ شَهْرًا وَكَانَ يُعْجِبُهٗ اَنْ تَكُوْنَ قِبْلَتُهٗ قِبَلَ الْبَيْتِ ۔ وَاَنَّهٗ صَلّٰى اَوَّلَ صَلٰوةٍ صَلَّاهَا صَلٰوةَ الْعَصْرِ ، وَصَلّٰى مَعَهٗ قَوْمٌ فَخَرَجَ رَجُلٌ مِّمَّنْ صَلّٰى مَعَهٗ فَمَرَّ عَلٰى اَهْلِ مَسْجِدٍ وَهُمْ رَاكِعُوْنَ فَقَالَ اَشْهَدُ بِاللّٰهِ ! لَقَدْ صَلَّيْتُ مَعَ رَسُوْلِ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قِبَلَ مَكَّةَ فَدَارُوْا كَمَا هُمْ قِبَلَ الْبَيْتِ ۔

(Reported by al-Bukhārī.) [reading uncertain]

Vocabulary: taqaddama — came forward, arrived; ajdādihi — his paternal or maternal kin; akhwālihi — the family of his maternal aunts and uncles; qibal — direction, facing; kāna yuʿjibuhu — it used to please him; rākiʿūn — [people] praying; ashhadu bi-llāh — I bear witness with an oath by Allah; dārū — they turned, they all turned round; ka-mā hum — in the very state they were in.

Translation: (It is narrated) from Ḥaḍrat Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib (may Allah be pleased with him) that when the Prophet ﷺ first came to Madīna, he stayed among the Anṣār with his maternal relatives — or (the narrator said) his akhwāl (i.e., the household of his maternal aunts and uncles) (the narrator was in doubt about the wording); and that the first prayer he ﷺ prayed (after the change of qibla) was the ʿAṣr prayer, and people too prayed it with him ﷺ. One man from among those who had prayed with the Prophet ﷺ went out, and he passed by some people of a mosque who were in prayer. This man said: "I bear witness, with an oath by God, that I have just prayed with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ facing Makka." So those people [reading uncertain]

☆ (Footnote:) After the new expansion, a miḥrāb has now been made above the entrance gate of the mosque to mark the old qibla. (Academy)

turned, just as they were, towards Bayt Allāh (Makka). (Reported by al-Bukhārī.)

عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ "كَانَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُسَبِّحُ عَلَى الرَّاحِلَةِ قِبَلَ اَيِّ وَجْهٍ تَوَجَّهَ وَيُوْتِرُ عَلَيْهَا غَيْرَ اَنَّهٗ لَا يُصَلِّيْ عَلَيْهَا الْمَكْتُوْبَةَ ۔

(Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.)

Vocabulary: yusabbiḥu — he prays; rāḥila — riding she-camel; ayyi wajhin — any direction whatsoever.

Translation: (It is narrated) from Ḥaḍrat ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him); he said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to pray on his she-camel, whichever direction the mount turned, and he would also pray the witr on it; except that the Prophet ﷺ would not pray the farḍ prayer on it. (This was reported by both Shaykhs, al-Bukhārī and Muslim.)

عَنْ طَلْحَةَ بْنِ عُبَيْدِ اللّٰهِ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ اِذَا وَضَعَ اَحَدُكُمْ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ مِثْلَ مُؤْخِرَةِ الرَّحْلِ فَلْيُصَلِّ وَلَا يُبَالِ مَنْ مَّرَّ وَرَاءَ ذٰلِكَ ۔

(Reported by Muslim.)

Vocabulary: waḍaʿa — placed; muʾkhirat al-raḥl — the back part of a camel-saddle; lā yubāli — let him not mind; warāʾa — beyond, on the far side.

Translation: (It is narrated) from Ḥaḍrat Ṭalḥa ibn ʿUbayd Allāh (may Allah be pleased with him); he said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "When any one of you places in front of himself something (as high) as the back part of a camel-saddle, then let him pray, and let him not mind who passes beyond it." (Reported by Muslim.)

عَنْ اَنَسٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُ اَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ "يَقْطَعُ الصَّلٰوةَ الْكَلْبُ وَالْحِمَارُ وَالْمَرْاَةُ" ۔ ☆

(Reported by al-Bazzār, and its chain is ṣaḥīḥ.)

Translation: (It is narrated) from Ḥaḍrat Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ said: "A dog, a donkey and a woman cut off the prayer (that is, they break it by coming in front)." (Reported by al-Bazzār, and its chain is ṣaḥīḥ.)

☆ (Footnote:)

قُلْتُ مُرَادُهٗ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ "يَقْطَعُ الصَّلٰوةَ عِنْدَ مُرُوْرِ الْمَرْاَةِ وَالْحِمَارِ وَالْكَلْبِ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ الْمُصَلِّيْ قَطْعُ الْحُضُوْرِ فِي الصَّلٰوةِ وَاِحْدَاثُ التَّشْوِيْشِ ۔ (ع ق)

Translation: I say: what the Prophet ﷺ meant by the prayer being cut off when a woman, a donkey or a dog passes in front of the one praying is the breaking of ḥuḍūrī (khushūʿ and khuḍūʿ — presence of heart and humility) in prayer, and the arising of distraction and disturbance in one's thoughts. (ʿAbd al-Qadeer [i.e., the author])

عَنِ الْفَضْلِ بْنِ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ "اَتَانَا رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَنَحْنُ فِيْ بَادِيَةٍ لَّنَا وَمَعَهٗ عَبَّاسٌ فَصَلّٰى فِيْ صَحْرَاءَ ، لَيْسَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ سُتْرَةٌ وَحِمَارَةٌ لَّنَا وَكَلْبَةٌ تَعْبَثَانِ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ فَمَا بَالٰى بِذٰلِكَ ۔

(Reported by Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasāʾī in similar wording, and its chain is ṣaḥīḥ.)

Vocabulary: atānā — came to us; bādiya — wilderness, open country; ṣaḥrāʾ — open ground; sutra — a screen, the barrier which the one praying places in front of himself; ḥimāra — she-donkey; kalba — bitch; taʿbathān — the two were playing about; mā bālā — he paid no heed.

Translation: (It is narrated) from Ḥaḍrat Faḍl ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both); he said: We were in our own open country (i.e., village) when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to us, and ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) was with him. Then the Prophet ﷺ prayed in the open ground (in such a state that) there was no sutra [screen] in front of him, and our she-donkey and bitch were both playing about in front of him; and he paid it no heed at all. (Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasāʾī reported a similar narration of this hadith, and its chain is ṣaḥīḥ.)