النص المفهرس

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that event, he received a divine commandment to turn towards the
Baytul-Maqdis. (This particular commandment has not been reported
in the Holy Qur'an - a fact which shows the hollowness of the claim
that the Holy Qur'an can be fully understood without the help of the
Hadith.) According to a hadith reported by Al-Bukhari, he offered his
prayers with the Baytul-Maqdis as his Qiblah for sixteen or seventeen
months. The spot where he offered his prayers in this manner is still
marked off in the mosque at Madinah. (Qurtubi)
The Holy Prophet & was, of course, obedience personified, and he
continued to offer his prayers with the Baytul-Maqdis as his Qiblah
according to the divine commandment, but at the same time he longed
that the Ka'bah, which had been the Qiblah of Sayyidna Adam and
Sayyidna Ibrahim JI +Je may be established as his also. The Way of
Allah being that He, in His grace, often fulfils the wishes of those of
His servants who have found His favour, the Holy Prophet @ hoped
that Allah would grant this wish. The Holy Qur'an describes the
situation thus:
قَدُ نَرَى تَقْلَّبَ وَجُهِكَ فِى السَّمَاءِ فَلَنُوَلْبِتَكَ فِبْلَةَ تَرْضُهَا فَوَلِ وَجُهَكَ شَطُرَ المُسْجِدِ الْحُرَاِ
"We have been seeing you turn your face to heaven. So, We
will certainly assign to you a Qiblah that you would like.
Now, turn your face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque (Al-
Masjid al-Haram) (2:144).
One should notice that the verse we have just cited does not
employ the terms, "Ka'bah" or Baytullah, but the expression Al-Masjid
al-Haram (the Sacred Mosque). It indicates that for those who live far
away from Makkah it is not necessary, while offering Salah, to have
the Ka'bah itself exactly in front of them, but turning one's face in the
direction of the "House of Allah" is quite sufficient. On the other hand,
for those who are present in the Sacred Mosque or can see the Ka'bah
from a distance, it is necessary to have the Ka'bah or some part of it
exactly in front of them, failing which the prayers will not be valid.
Now, when the Ka'bah was finally established as the Qiblah
sixteen or seventeen months after the Hijrah, some Jews, associators
and hypocrites began to scoff at the Holy Prophet & and his
Companions رضى الله عنهم أجمعين for being so capricious in the matter of

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their Qiblah. The Holy Qur'an reports this objection, adding that such
an objection can come only from stupid people - just as earlier in this
Surah those who turn away from the religion of Sayyidna Ibrahim de
>JI have been described as people who have besotted themselves. In
replying to this objection, the second part of the verse shows that their
stupidity lies in not realizing that the East and the West both belong
to Allah Himself, and that He guides whomsoever He likes on the
straight path. The verse, thus, explains the meaning of adopting an
orientation - that is to say, neither does the Ka'bah nor the
Baytul-Maqdis by itself possess any exclusive merit in this regard, and
it is the divine commandment alone which gives to it the distinction of
being the Qiblah - it could have as easily chosen some other place to
serve the purpose. Moreover, the only merit in adopting a particular
Qiblah lies in one's obedience to the divine commandment and in one's
total submission to the will of Allah, which is the basic principle of the
religion of the founder of the Ka'bah, Sayyidna Ibrahim WILLe. In
fact, the Holy Qur'an itself explains this truth in clear terms:
لَيْسَ الْنِّ انْ تُؤَّلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالمُغَرِّبِ وَلِكِنَّ الْبَرَّ مَنْ أُمَنَ بِاللّهِ
"Righteousness is not that you turn your faces to the East or
the West; but righteousness is that one believes in Allah ... "
(2:177).
Or in an earlier Verse: 02, PPCar : "So whichever way you
turn, there is the Face of Allah." (2:115) These verses clearly define
the meaning and significance of adopting an orientation - that is, the
place which has been chosen to serve as the Qiblah does not possess
any merit in its own right, but the special merit arises from its having
been chosen by Allah, and similarly turning towards it constitutes a
meritorious act only insofar as it shows a readiness to obey divine
commandment. The raison d'etre of changing the Qiblah for the Holy
Prophet & might well be to show to the people in a visible form that a
Qiblah is not an idol to be worshipped but only a concrete expression of
divine commandment, and may hence be changed as and when Allah
wills. In fact, the very next verse (2:143) explicitly says that when the
Baytul-Maqdis was earlier appointed as the Qiblah, it was intended to
show who was willing to obey the Holy Prophet d and who was not.
Verse 142, thus, fully refutes the antagonists of Islam, and points

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out that Allah guides whosoever He wills on the Straight Path - the
Straight Path, of course, being the readiness to obey divine
commandment without demur. And this Straight Path was granted to
the Muslims by the grace of Allah. There is also the suggestion that in
the matter of the injunctions of the Shari'ah rectitude lies in obeying
each and every divine commandment unquestioningly without being
too curious about the raison d'etre of such a commandment. For, those
who seek a raison d'etre usually do so because they wish to deny or
denigrate or disobey the Shari'ah.
According to a hadith reported from Sayyidah 'A'isha Que Je, in
the "Musnad" of Imam Ahmad, the People of the Book are specially
jealous of the Muslims for three things - (1) in answer to the divine
commandment to every Ummah (or religious community) to set aside a
day in the week for worship, the Jews chose Saturday and the Chris-
tians, Sunday, while the Muslims opted for Friday which happened to
be the favourite of Allah; (2) the Ka'bah was appointed as the Qiblah
for the Muslims, and not for others; (3) the Muslims were given the
privilege of saying Amin while offering Salah behind an 'Imam.
Verse 143 ...
وَكَذْلِكَ جَعَلْنْكُمْ أُمَةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُوُّنُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ
وَيَكُوْنَ الَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيْدًا ...
And in the same way We made you a moderate Ummah
(community), so that you should be witnesses over the
people, and the Messenger a witness to you. (Verse
143) 40
The verse qualifies the Islamic nation (Ummah) with the objective
Wasat which signifies "moderate, middle or central", and is usually
applied to a thing considered to be the best of its kind. According to a
40. The earlier verse has dealt with the subject of the Qiblah or the
orientation for Salah and has indicated that the "Straight Path" is
identical with a willing acceptance of the divinely ordained
injunctions of the Shari'ah. Since the Islamic Ummah has accepted
these injunctions without the least hesitation, the present verse
says, by way of parenthesis, a few words of praise for it, bringing out
the superiority of the Islamic Ummah over other Traditional
communities. (Bayan al-Qur'an)

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hadith reported by al-Tirmidhi from the blessed Companion Abu Sa'id
al-Khudri, the word Wasat is to be interpreted as "just" - in the sense
of being "the best" (Qurtubi). The verse points out that just as Allah has
granted to the Muslims a Qiblah which is superior to all other
orientations, in the same way He has bestowed upon the Islamic
Ummah the unparalleled distinction of being moderate, balanced and
just - in short, the honour of occupying the central position among all
the Ummahs or Traditional communities. This distinction will
manifest itself in its full resplendence on the Day of Judgment. Those
among the earlier Ummahs who had been denying their prophets
would, on that day, pretend that they had never received a book from
Allah nor had any prophet given them any kind of guidance. The
Islamic Ummah would, then, be called upon to bear witness, and it
would, testify that prophets had been coming from Allah in every age,
and providing guidance to each and every people. The earlier Ummahs
would raise the objection that since the Islamic Ummah did not exist
at that time and could not possibly know what had been happening
before it came into being, its testimony against the earlier peoples
could not be valid. In reply to this, the Islamic Ummah would
maintain that even if it was not an eyewitness to the events of the
past, yet it had received an authentic report from the most reliable
source of information that can possibly be - that is, from the Last
Prophet & and from the Last Book of Allah. The Holy Prophet
himself would be called in as a witness, and he would confirm the
testimony of his Ummah. (For details, see the various Ahadith reported in the
collections of al-Bukhari, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i and Imam Ahmad).
The most moderate of all people
According to the present verse, the characteristic quality which
confers a superiority on the Islamic Ummah over others is its being
Wasat - (a word which has been variously translated into English as
"midmost, moderate, just, intermediary, middle, central or justly
balanced.") In order to explain the implications of the word Wasat,
commentators have usually made use of another Arabic adjective
Mu'tadil (signifying "moderate or temperate") and the noun I'tidal

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which means "being equal"; both the words come from the root 'Adl
which signifies "to be equal, or to make equal." 41
In this regard one would like to know why the superiority of a
human group or individual should be made to depend on the quality of
moderation. Let us begin this discussion with a quite tangible fact. All
the medical systems, old or new, are unanimous in accepting the
principle that the health of the human body depends on the
temperateness of the different elements of which it is composed, and
that illness or disease comes from a disturbance of this equilibrium.
According to the ancient Greek medicine, which was further developed
by the Muslims, these elements or "humours" are four in number -
blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile -, and the humours produce
four physical states in the body - heat, cold, wetness and dryness. As
long as the four states are properly balanced against one another, the
human body enjoys good health; but as soon as there is an immoderate
increase or decrease in any one of them, the body becomes diseased,
and if the balance is not properly restored in time, it may succumb to
the forces of death. Similarly, in the ethical and spiritual sphere too
health depends on temperateness and inner equilibrium, and illness
arises out of intemperance and disequilibrium, which, if allowed to
grow, results in spiritual death. At the same time, anyone who has
eyes to see would readily discover for himself that the essence of
manhood which places man at the head of all created beings, does not
lie in the physical states of his body - that he, in fact, shares with all
the animals - but in something higher and subtler: namely, spiritual
perfection. As the great Sufi poet Rumi has said: "Manhood does not
reside in the flesh, or in the fat or in the skin; manhood is nothing else
than seeking to please the Friend." As to those who ignore this
Essential attribute of man and allow it to be destroyed in themselves,
Rumi says: "These people you see all around are non-human; they are
not men, but only wear the masks of man."
The Universal Man
This being so, we are naturally led to the conclusion that he alone
41. So, for the purpose of the present discussion we shall choose the English
word "moderation" in order to explain certain essential features of the
Islamic Ummah.

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can deserve the title of Al-Insan al-Kamil ("the Universal Man") who
has attained ethical and spiritual equilibrium along with physical
equilibrium. This quality has specially been granted to all the
prophets WI +Je , and, in its most perfect form, to the Holy Prophet
who is thus "the Universal Man" par excellence. As for humanity in
general, Allah has, on the other hand, created a stable and complex
system of medicines, instruments and physicians for the physical
well-being of man; similarly, He has, on the other hand, sent His
prophets who bring divine guidance for man, and who are provided
with a certain amount of requisite physical force too, so that they may
promulgate this law of equilibrium and moderation in the world. The
Holy Qur'an defines the purpose of sending prophets and messengers
of Allah to men, and of giving them Divine Books:
لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا وُسْلَنَا بِالْبَنِّنْتِ وَ اَنْزَلْنَا مَعَهُمْ الْكِتَابَ وَالْمِيْزَانَ لِيَقُوْمَ النَّاسُ
بِالْقِسْطِ وَأَنْزَلْنَا الْحَدِيْدَ فِيْهِ بَأْسٌ شَدِيُّهُ وَّ مَنَافِعُ لِلنَّاسِ
"Indeed, We have sent Our messengers with the clear signs,
and We have sent down with them the Book and the Balance.
so that men might uphold justice. And We have sent down
iron in which there is great might, and many uses for men."
(57:25)
Let us add by way of explanation that "the Book" is meant for
producing inner equilibrium and temperateness in men, and "the
Balance" for producing equilibrium in their social conduct and
economic transactions - the "Balance" may also stand for the Shari'ah
of every prophet which helps us to define what "equilibrium" really is
in its various applications in the different spheres of human life, and
which serves to establish justice in the world.
Now, let us recall that the verse under discussion characterizes the
Islamic Ummah with the word Wasat ("moderate, middle, central").
Our discussion must have made it clear that this simple word
comphrehends all the qualities which it is possible for an individual or
a community of men to possess in this world. Through such a
characterization of the Islamic Ummah, the Holy Qur'an has thus
indicated that this Ummah possesses the essential quality of manhood
to a degree of perfection that no other Ummah does, and that it is
superior to all others in serving the purpose for which the whole

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cosmic order has been created, and for which all the prophets and
divine books have been sent.
The Universal Community
Certain other verses of the Holy Qur'an define this essential
quality of the Islamic Ummah in more specific terms. For example: :. ,
Among those We have created there is an": خَلَقْنَا أُمَّةً تَهُدُونَ بِالْحِقِّ وَبِهُ يَعْدِلُونَ
Ummah which guides by the truth, and by it dispenses justice." (7:181)
That is to say, the Islamic Ummah displays its spiritual equilibrium in
giving up the pursuit of individual desires and interests in order to
follow divine guidance and try to make others too do the same, and in
settling all kinds of disputes in the light of divine law without being
influenced by the vested interests of a person or a group. Another
verse is still more specific:
كُنْمُ خَيْرَ أْمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْرُوْنَ بِالْعَرْوْفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْكِرَ وَتُؤْمِنُوْنَ
بِاللَّهِ
"You are the best Ummah that has been brought forth for
men, bidding to good deeds and forbidding evil deeds and be-
lieving in Allah." (3:110)
It is the best Ummah, for it has been granted a unique Prophet
who taught us to respect all other prophets, and a Book which is the
most comprehensive and the most perfect of all the Divine Books, and
has in itself been endowed with the quality of temperateness,
moderation and equilibrium to a degree as no other Ummah does
enjoy; it has been destined to be the recipient of the most subtle modes
of knowledge, to outshine others in all the forms of faith and practice,
and, above all, in the fear of Allah - its field of action not limited to any
one country or race but extending all over the world, and infusing all
the spheres of human existence. The phrase aw 21 : "raised for
mankind." (3:110) indicates that the very purpose for which it has
been brought into being is to work for the good of men, and to help
them find the way to salvation and to Paradise, its function and, so to
say, its very insignia as an Ummah being to guide people towards good
deeds and to dissuade them from evil deeds. This role of the Islamic
Ummah has been formulated very succinctly in a hadith: 25 :
"Religion consists in having the good of others at heart" - particularly
of other Muslims. Let us add that the good deeds towards which this

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Ummah is meant to guide others are those which have been defined as
such by the Shari'ah, while the evil deeds from which it is to dissuade
them include infidelity (Kufr), association (Shirk), innovations in
religion (Bid'ah), sins of different kinds, illegitimate customs,
transgression of divine commandments, immoral or indecent actions,
etc. As to dissuading people from evil deeds, this too may take various
forms - it may require the use sometimes of the tongue, sometimes of
the hand, sometimes of the pen and sometimes of the sword - in fact, it
would include all the forms of Jihad. As far as the extensive and
intensive display of this particular quality is concerned, no other
Ummah can compare with the Islamic Ummah.
Moderateness: A Comparative View
Let us now consider how far the temperateness or the moderation
of this Ummah is borne out by actual facts. Since it is not possible
here to make a detailed comparative study of the respective beliefs
and practices of all the Ummahs, we shall give only a few examples
which would, we hope, satisfactorily establish the superiority of this
Ummah over others.
First of all, let us take up the doctrinal aspect. In the case of the
earlier Ummahs one would observe that on the one hand they took
their prophets to be the sons of Allah and started worshipping them -
The Jews said, 'Ezra is the son of": قَالَتِ الْيَهُوْدُ مُزَيْ إِبْنْ اللَّهِ وَقَالَتِ التَّضْرَى الْمَسِبْحُ ابْنُ اللهِ
Allah', and the Christians said, 'Christ is the son of Allah'." (9:30) -,
and that on the other hand some people from among them, in spite of
having recognized and acknowledged their prophet on the basis of his
oft-repeated miracles, refused to obey him when he asked them to take
part in a holy war, and bluntly said : ◌َإِذْهَبُ أَنْتَ وَرَبُّكَ فَقَاتِلاَ أَنَّا هُهُنَا فُعِدُوْن :"Go
forth, you and your Lord, and fight; we will be sitting here." (5:24) We
sometimes see even the spectacle of prophets being tortured by their
own followers. On the contrary, we have the Islamic Ummah which
has such a deep love for the Holy Prophet & that Muslims have, in
every period of their history, taken it to be the greatest blessing to be
able to sacrifice their own lives and even the lives of their wives and
children at his call, and yet it has never exceeded the limit, and has
placed the Holy Prophet _ only in the station of a prophet and not in
the station of Allah. In spite of knowing him to be the most perfect of

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all the prophets, it has been calling him ___ >, Jls : "the servant of
Allah, and His messenger." The doctrinal position with regard to him,
as defined in the famous Arabic poem "Qasidah al-Burdah", is that,
short of attributing "the sonhood of Allah" to him (which the
Christians do in the case of Christ, and which constitutes an act of
infidelity), anything that one says in his praise would be correct; or, in
the words of a Persian poet, addressing the Holy Prophet :
بعد از خدا بزرگ توئ قصه مختصر
"In short, after God, you are the greatest."
When we turn from the doctrinal aspect to a consideration of the
actual attitudes and practices in the matter of worship and rites, we
again find similar excesses and aberrations on the part of earlier Um-
mahs. On the one hand, we see their religious scholars misinterpreting
or changing the injunctions of their Shari'ah and even distorting the
Sacred Books for a few pieces of silver, and inventing all kinds of ruses
to get rid of divinely ordained rites; on the other hand, we find people
giving up the world altogether, imprisoning themselves in monastic
cells, refusing to accept their share in the blessings of the physical
world which Allah has not only granted to man but the enjoyment of
which also He has permitted, and, in short, believing that imposing
hardships on oneself carries the highest merit and is in itself an act of
worship par excellence. The history of Islamic Ummah, on the
contrary, presents a totally different picture. On the one hand, it has
never adopted monasticism as the supreme form of religious life - in
fact, Islam forbids such an attitude. On the other hand, through its
readiness to sacrifice property and life, even children and all for the
sake of the commandments of Allah and His Prophet , the Ummah
established its sway even politically over a considerable area of the
world. It has demonstrated in its practice as no other Ummah has that
religion is meant to be put into action in the market-places and the
halls of power as much as in the mosques and the contemplative
retreats. It is the Islamic Ummah which has shown the world how the
poor in spirit can move about in the robes of kings, and the kings in
spirit conceal themselves in the garb of beggars - all because the king
as well as the beggar knows that the greatest dignity lies in being the
servant of Allah.

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In the sphere of human and social relations too, the earlier
Ummahs have in their behaviour been guilty of excess in one way or
another. On the one hand, we see an indifference to human rights and
particularly an utter disregard of the rights of women, and, in general,
a pursuit of individual interests and desires irrespective of the
question of right and wrong. On the other hand, we have the display of
an exaggerated sentimentality which forbids the eating of animal flesh,
in spite of Allah having made it lawful, and which frowns upon the
killing of an insect even accidentally. It was the Islamic Ummah and
its Shari'ah which established an equilibrium and a just order in the
field of human relations. On the other hand, it set down a clear code of
human rights, extended them to women as well, and prescribed that
not only in times of peace but on the battle-field itself the enemies too
must enjoy certain inalienable rights. On the other hand, it clearly
demarcated every right and every duty, and put down every act of
falling back from the prescribed mark or exceeding it as a crime. The
Islamic Shari'ah also taught that one should try to fulfil all of one's
obligations towards others, but if one saw one's own rights suffer, one
should exercise patience and forgiveness.
In the economic sphere too, the other Ummahs have been a prey to
excesses of different kinds. For example, in our own age we have, on
the one hand, the Capitalist system which pays no heed to the
distinction between the lawful and the unlawful, and is totally blind to
the welfare of the people, but exalts the amassing of wealth as the
highest virtue; on the other hand are certain economic systems which
have no respect for personal property. In actual fact, the essence of
these two hostile systems is the same - the pursuit of worldly things as
the be-all and the end-all of human life. Contrary to this, the Islamic
Shari'ah brings the conflicting elements into an equilibrium, giving to
each its proper place. On the one hand, it does not allow the amassing
of wealth to be made the ultimate end of man's effort, nor does it make
human dignity depend on the considerations of money or rank or
office. On the other hand, it promulgates certain principles for the
distribution of wealth in a balanced manner so that no member of a
society should be deprived of the basic necessities of life, nor should an

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individual or a group appropriate all the available wealth. The things
which can be shared in common by all the members of a society have
been entrusted to public or joint control, while in certain specific
things the right to private property has been fully respected. It made
a clear-cut distinction between lawful (Halal) possessions and
unlawful (Haram) possessions, insisting on the spiritual merit of
lawful possessions and laying down the rules for making use of them.
Injunctions and related considerations
(1) According to the present verse, Allah has made the Islamic
Ummah an equitable and just, and hence a trustworthy community,
"so that" it may be qualified to bear witness. From this we infer the
legal principle that one who is not 'Adil (trustworthy - as defined by
the Shari'ah) cannot be acceptable as a witness in a court of law.
(2) According to al-Qurtubi, this verse establishes Ijma': (C), or
the consensus of the Islamic Ummah, as one of the four deciding
agencies in the matter of legislation. For, the very fact that Allah
Himself has accepted this Ummah as a trustworthy witness as against
the other traditional communities, shows that the consensus of this
Ummah is a deciding factor in legislative matters, and that it is
necessary (Wajib) to act upon it. Thus, the consensus of the blessed
Companions has to be accepted by their successors, and that of the
latter by the next generation.
According to Al-Tafsir al-Mazhari, this verse establishes the
principle that the deeds and actions of this Ummah which have been
approved by a consensus are all of them commendable, for, if one were
to admit the possibility of a consensus on an error, the Ummah cannot
be characterized as being moderate and just.
Imam al-Jassas adds that the dependability of the consensus is not
particular to the time of the Holy Prophet a or of the blessed
Companions, but that the consensus of the Muslims in any age
whatsoever is equally trustworthy, for this verse is addressed to the
whole Ummah which includes not only the contemporaries of the Holy
Prophet ! but also the succeeding generations of Muslims upto the

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Day of Judgment. Thus, the Muslims living in any age whatsoever
qualify as the witnesses of Allah whose agreement on a certain point
becomes a deciding factor in matters of legislation, and who cannot
arrive at a consensus on anything which should constitute an error or
a deviation. 42
... Verse 143
. .. وَمَا جَعَلُنَ الْقِبْلَةَ الَّتِى كُنْتَ عَلَيْهَا إِلَّ لِنَعْلِمَ مَنْ تَتَّبِعُ
الرَّسُوْلَ مِمَّنٌ يَنْقَلِبُ عَلى عَقِبَيْهُ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ لَكَبِيْرَةَّ إِلَّ عَلَى
الَّذِيْنَ هَدَى اللَّهُهُ وَمَا كَانَ اللّهُ لِيُضُِعَ إِيمَانَكُمْ إِنَّ اللهَ
بِالنَّاسِ لَرَُّفُ تَرَّحِيمٌ )
And We did not appoint the Qiblah which you used to
observe except to know him who follows the Messenger
as distinct from him who turns on his heels. And, it was
burdensome indeed, but not on those whom Allah
guided. And Allah is not to let your faith go waste.
Certainly Allah is very kind, very merciful to the
people. (Verse 143)
The History of the Qiblah
There is some difference of opinion among the blessed Companions
and their Successors as to whether it was the Baytullah at Makkah or
the "Baytul-Maqdis" at Jerusalem which was appointed as the Qiblah,
when the five daily prayers were made obligatory in Makkah
al-Mukarramah before the Hijrah (the migration of the Holy Prophet
from Makkah to Madinah). According to the blessed Companion
'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, the first Qiblah was the Baytul-Maqdis, and
continued to be so even after the Hijrah for some sixteen or seventeen
42. Let us not, however, forget that consensus or Ijma' in this context does
not at all imply a sort of referendum on the basis of adult franchise, but
means the agreement of a majority of such scholars as fulfil the
necessary conditions for pronouncing a judgment in the matters of the
Shari'ah - that is to say, those who possess the authority to exercise
Ijtihad. It goes without saying that once a consensus of this kind has
been arrived at in any matter, the majority of the Ummah accepts it,
and holds by it.

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months, and it was only then that Allah commanded that the
Baytullah be taken as the Qiblah. However, the practice of the Holy
Prophet , at Makkah was that he used to offer his prayers between
al-Hajar al-Aswad ("the Black Stone") and al-Rukn al-Yamaniyy ("the
corner facing Yemen") so that his face should be turned towards the
Baytullah and the Baytul-Maqdis both at the same time. But this was
no longer possible when he migrated to Madinah, and hence his keen
desire that the Baytullah be appointed as the new Qiblah. (Ibn Kathir)
But other Companions رضى الله عنهم أجمعين are of the view that when the
five daily prayers were made obligatory at Makkah, it was the
Baytullah which served as the Qiblah for the Muslims as it had for
Sayyidnā Ibrahim and Sayyidna Isma'il JI+Je . As long as the Holy
Prophet ! stayed at Makkah, he continued to observe this Qiblah.
But after the Hijrah, Allah ordained a change in the orientation, and
the Baytul-Maqdis was appointed as the Qiblah, which it continued to
be for sixteen or seventeen months. Then came a new commandment,
and the Baytullah was restored as the Qiblah. Al-Qurtubi, relying on
the authority of Abu 'Amr, prefers the second view to the first. The
raison d'etre of these changes of orientation has been explained like
this. When the Holy Prophet ; came to Madinah, he had to deal with
the Jews, and in order to familiarize them with Islam he adopted their
Qiblah under divine commendment. But, by and by it became evident
that a stubborn people like the Jews would not easily give up their
hostility to Islam. So, Allah allowed him to go back to the original
Qiblah, which, being the Qiblah of his forefathers, Sayyidna Ibrahim
and Sayyidna Isma'il WJI +Le, was naturally dearer to him. In fact,
the mosque of Sayyidna Salih WILL was oriented towards the
Baytullah, as is shown by an incident reported by al-Qurtubi from Abu
al-'Aliyah al-Riyahi. The latter once had a debate with a Jew
concerning the orientation adopted by Sayyidna Musa (Moses XuJI e).
The Jew insisted that the great prophet turned in his prayers towards
the Sakhrah, The Dome of the Rock in the Sacred Mosque at
Jerusalem, while Abu al-'Aliyah maintained that he stood near the
Sakhrah, but his face was turned towards the Baytullah. Finally, the
latter suggested that the dispute could be decided by having a look at

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the mosque of Sayyidna Salih >JI situated on a hill below the
Baytul-Maqdis. And, on visiting the mosque, they found that it was
oriented towards the Baytullah.
Now, according to those who prefer the first of the two views, the
raison d'etre was that it was necessary at Makkah to differentiate the
Muslims from the idol-worshippers and to emphasize the distinction
between the two, and hence the Baytul-Maqdis was appointed as the
Qiblah of the Muslims instead of the Baytullah which was at that
time the Qiblah of the mushrikin. Then, after the Hijrah, there arose a
new need at Madinah - that of highlighting the distinction between the
Muslims and the Jews. So, the Qiblah of the Jews was given up, and
the Baytullah was adopted as the Qiblah of the Muslims.
On account of the difference between these two views, the phrase
"the Qiblah which you used to observe" has also been interpreted in
two ways. On the basis of the first view, "the Qiblah" referred to in
the present verse can only be the Baytul-Maqdis which was the first
and earlier Qiblah; on the basis of the second, it can also be the Ka'bah
which was the earliest and the first Qiblah. Anyhow, the real import of
the verse remains the same in either case - the commandment with
regard to the change in orientation is a test of the faith of those who
claim to be the followers of the Holy Prophet , which would openly
demonstrate the distinction between those who are genuinely obedient
to Allah and His Messenger ! , and those who follow their individual
opinion. History records that after this verse had been revealed, those
who were weak in their faith, or were just hypocrites, forsook Islam,
and even accused the Holy Prophet y of having gone back to the ways
of his own people - that is, of the mushrikin.
Injunctions and related considerations
(1) The present verse shows that sometimes an injunction based on
the Sunnah, or the Tradition of the Holy Prophet & is abrogated by
the Holy Qur'an. As Imam al-Jassas points out in his "Ahkam
al-Qur'an", the Noble Qur'an does not specify that the Holy Prophet
was ever commanded, before the Hijrah or after, to turn in his prayers
towards the Baytul-Maqdis: we find the relevant evidence only in the

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Hadith and the Sunnah. It comes to mean that a practice which had
been established by the Sunnah was abrogated by this verse of the
Holy Qur'an, appointing the Baytullah as the Qiblah.
(2) This verse also goes to show that the Hadith of the Messenger
of Allah too, in a certain respect, cannot be delinked from the Holy
Qur'an, and that the Holy Qur'an recognizes the legitimacy of those
injunctions which find no mention in the Holy Qur'an but have been
instituted by the Hadith alone. For, the present verse clearly states at
the end that prayers which had been offered, taking the
Baytul-Maqdis as the Qiblah, as commanded by the Holy Prophet ,
are altogether valid and acceptable to Allah.
(3) This verse helps us to resolve a delicate problem in Islamic
jurisprudence pertaining to the "Khabar al-Wahid" (which is a Hadith
reported by one or two persons only). The question which arises in this
respect is whether an injunction laid down in the Holy Qur'an, or
definitely authenticated otherwise, can be abrogated by such a hadith.
The Hanafi school of jurisprudence holds that it cannot, while the
reports concerning this verse suggest that it can do so, if strong
indications are present to establish the authenticity of such a hadith.
For, al-Bukhari, Muslim and nearly all the authentic collections of the
Ahadith report the following circumstances from several Companions
When the divine commandment changing the Qiblah. رضى الله عنهم أجمعين
came down, the Holy Prophet @ offered his prayers at the time of 'Asr
(or, according to other reports cited by Ibn Kathir, at the time of zuhr)
facing the Baytullah. Some Companions, departing from the mosque,
happened to pass by the mosque of the Bani Salamah tribe, and found
these people offering their prayers in the direction of the
Baytul-Maqdis. So, they called out to inform them that the Qiblah had
now been changed, and that they had just offered their prayers along
with the Holy Prophet & in the direction of the Baytullah. On
hearing this, those people at once changed their orientation to
Baytullah even in the course of the prayers. Nuwaylah Bint Muslim
relates that women who were in the back row came forward, so that
when the orientation had been changed, men were again in the front
row and women in the back row. (Ibn Kathir) Thus the Banu Salmah
tribe adopted the new Qiblah the very same day. But the news

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reached Quba the next day in the course of the Fajr prayers - as
reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim from the blessed Companion Ibn
'Umar -, and the people of Quba too turned towards the Baytullah in
the course of the prayers. (Ibn Kathir and Jassas)
After citing these reports, Imam al-Jassas concludes.
هذا خبر صحيح مستفيض فى أيدى أهل العلم قد تلقوه بالقبول فصار فى
حيزالتواتر الموجب للعلم
"Although this hadith is essentially a solitary report, (that is,
Al-Khabar al-Wahid), yet, having been generally accepted and also
being supported by strong indication with regard to its authenticity, it
has acquired the status of a hadith that has been related by a number
of trustworthy reporters in an uninterrupted succession -- a fact which
always leads to certitude."
The Hanafi jurists agree with this conclusion. They must, however,
face another question. This hadith acquired general acceptance only
much later, while the news of the change in the orientation must have
been conveyed to the Banu Salamah tribe and this hadith immediately
without its being widely known? Al-Jassas replies that not only these
people but all the Companions already knew that the Holy Prophet
wished the Baytullah to be appointed as the Qiblah and had even been
praying for it, and had begun to consider it quite probable that the
injunction to retain Baytul-Maqdis as the Qiblah may not remain
operative in the future. In other words, the probability of a change
had made the continuation of the Baytul-Maqdis as the Qiblah a bit
uncertain, and not definite. In view of this element of uncertainty, the
Khabar al-Wahid was considered to be quite sufficient for abrogating
the earlier commandment. Otherwise, a Khabar al-Wahid cannot
justifiably abrogate a definite and final injunction laid down by the
Holy Qur'an.
(4) The present verse helps to resolve an important problem which
has been the subject of a controversy: if the 'Imam uses a microphone
in leading Salah, would it be legitimate for the congregation to obey
his call in their movements? If they can hear no more than the sound
coming out of the loud-speaker, would it not invalidate their prayers?
As we have already noted, Al-Bukhari reports a hadith from the

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blessed Companion 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar, relating how the people of
Quba turned towards the Baytullah even in the course of their prayers
as soon as they heard the commandment about the change in orienta-
tion. Commenting on this incident, the great Hanafi scholar al-‘Ayni
says: فيه جواز تعليم من ليس فى الصلوة من هو فيها :"This hadith establishes the rule
that a man who is not offering his prayers may teach or instruct the
man who is engaged in his prayers." In another place, al-'Ayni also
adds that from this hadith, al-Tahtawi has derived the rule that if a
man engaged in his prayers hears the words spoken by one who is not
so engaged, it does not invalidate his prayers ('Umdah al-Qari).
Of course, the Hanafi jurists in general hold that if a man engaged
in his prayers obeys the call of another man who is not participating in
these prayers, it invalidates his prayers. What they, however, mean is
that obeying someone other than Allah in the course of Salah
invalidates it, but if one is actually obeying a divine commandment
and the other man is acting only as a means of communicating this
injunction to him, it does not invalidate the prayers at all. An
example would make the point clear. If a man, joining the
congregational prayers, finds that there is no room left in the first row,
and that he would be the only one to stand in the second, he should,
according to the jurists, pull someone back from the first row and
make him join the second row along with himself. Now, on the face of
it, the man who allows himself to be pulled back is obeying someone
other than Allah in the course of the prayers, and this should
invalidate his prayers. But, in fact, it is not so. The most authoritative
book of Hanafi jurisprudence, "Al-Durr al-Mukhtar", lays down the
rule that the prayers of this man are perfectly valid. As to why his
prayers would not be invalidated, Al-Tahtawi explains that this man
has not actually been obeying the new-comer, but following a divine
commandment conveyed to him by the Holy Prophet . Let us add
that there are two different ways in which a man engaged in his
prayers may obey the call of another man who is not participating
with him in these prayers. (a) He may wish to please this man and to
obey him. In such a case, the prayers would become invalid. (b) He
obeys a commandment of the Shari'ah, conveyed to him by the other
man. In this case, he is essentially obeying a divine commandment,
and hence his prayers would not become invalid. (Tahtawi)

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This discussion should make it easy to resolve the problem about
the use of a microphone by an 'Imam in leading the congregational
prayers. Technical experts hold that the sound coming out of a
loudspeaker is exactly the sound produced by the 'Imam. If it is so,
there is no question of the prayers being invalid. But if we suppose
that the sound transmitted by a microphone is not exactly the sound
produced by the 'Imam, but only an imitation of the sound, or a report
of what he has been saying, even then it would be improper to suspect
that the people offering their prayers have been obeying the command
of the microphone. For, it is obvious enough that they have been
obeying the commandment of the Holy Prophet to follow the
movements of the 'Im am - the microphone does no more than inform
them that the 'Im am has, for example, bowed himself down or
prostrated himself, and in accepting this information and following his
movements, they obey the 'Imam and not the instrument. And it is, of
course, a divine commandment which requires us to obey the 'Imam in
the congregational prayers.
(5) There is a phrase in the present verse which requires some
explanation: "And Allah is not to let your faith go waste." If we take
'Im am (faith) in its usual sense, the phrase would be interpreted like
this. When the Qiblah was changed, some stupid people thought that
the Muslims had forsaken Islam, and that their 'Im am had now
become null and void. The verse assures the Muslims that Allah
would not allow their 'Imam to go waste, and asks them not to fall prey
to such senseless conjectures.
On the other, on the basis of certain Ahadith, some early
commentators have interpreted the word 'Imam in the verse to mean
the Salah. According to this interpretation, Allah assures the Muslims
that the commandment changing the Qiblah would in no way affect
the validity of the prayers they have been offering so far in the
direction of the Baytul-Maqdis - Allah would not allow these prayers to
go waste, for they are valid, and have already been accepted.
Al-Bukhari has reported from the Companion al-Bara' 'Ibn 'Azib,
and al-Tirmidhi from the Companion Ibn 'Abbas ar duo, that when
the Baytullah was appointed as the Qiblah, people became worried
about the fate of those Muslims who had been praying in the direction

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of the Baytul-Maqdis, but had died before having the opportunity to
pray in the direction of the Baytullah.
Verse 144
قَدْ تَزِى تَقَلَّبَ وَجُهِكَ فِى السَّمَآَ ؟ فَلَنُوْلِتَكَ قِبْلَةً تَرْضُبِهَا
فَوَلٌ وَجُهَكَ شَطْرَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَحَيْثُ مَاكُنْتُمْ فَوَّلُّهُإِ
وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطَرَةٍ وَإِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ أُوْتُوا الْكِتْبَ لَيَعْلَمُوْنَ أَنّهُ الَحَقّ
مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَمَا اللّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا يَعْمَلُوْنَ 0
We have been seeing you turn your face to heaven. So,
We will certainly assign to you a Qiblah that you would
like. Now, turn your face in the direction of the Sacred
Mosque (Al-Masjid al-Haram). And, wherever you be,
turn your faces in its direction. Even those who have
been given the Book know well that here is the truth
from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what
they do. (Verse 144)
The orientation to Qiblah
This verse begins by speaking of how deeply the Holy Prophet
wished that the Ka'bah be appointed as the Qiblah of the Muslims.
This inclination has been explained in different ways, but there is no
real contradiction involved in these different views. For example, it
has been said that before prophethood was conferred on him, he used
to follow, out of the impulsion of his own nature, the way of Sayyidna
Ibrahim (Abraham) WILJe , and that when he began to receive the
Revelation, the Holy Qur'an itself designated his Shari'ah as being in
total accord with the Abrahamic Way. Moreover, the Qiblah of
عليه السلام as well as that of Sayyidna Ismail عليه السلام Sayyidna Ibrahim
had been the Ka'bah. So, it was quite in the nature of things for him
to wish that the Ka'bah be appointed as the Qiblah of the Muslims. An
additional factor was that the Arab tribes, in spite of being associators,
at least claimed to be the followers of the Abrahamic Way, and
acknowledged the Ka'bah as their Qiblah in contradiction to the Jews.
Once the Ka'bah had been made the Qiblah of the Muslims, the Arabs
could be expected to find Islam more acceptable. As for the hope that
the adoption of the Baytul-Maqdis as the Qiblah would bring the Jews
closer to Islam, it had been dashed by the events of the last sixteen or

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seventeen months, for the hostility of the Jews to Islam, fed by their
vanity, had only been growing more intense.
Whatever be the motive, the Holy Prophet & was very keen to see
the Ka'bah appointed as the Qiblah. Now, prophets are as close to
Allah as man can ever be, and this exalted station teaches them to
observe a very strict spiritual etiquette - they never submit a request
before Allah until and unless they have received the permission to do
so. This principle leads us to believe that the Holy Prophet @ had
already been allowed to pray for his wish to be fulfilled, and that he
hoped his prayer would be granted. So, he used to turn his face again
and again to the sky, anxiously waiting for an angel to appear and
bring the injunction he had been wishing for.
In the present verse, Allah describes this state of the Holy Prophet
in an appreciative manner, and promises to assign him a Qiblah
that he would like. Immediately after the promise, there follows the
commandment: فَوَلِ وَجُهَكَ شَطَرَ الْمسْجِدِ الْحَرَام :"Now turn your face in the
direction of the Sacred Mosque." Here we find a manifestation of the
subtle workings of divine grace - the Holy Prophet was, to begin
with, granted the joy of hearing a promise made, and, immediately
after, the greater joy of seeing the promise fulfilled. (Qurtubi, Jassas and
Mazhari)
Injunctions and related considerations
As we have explained earlier, Allah is not confined to any direction
or dimension - ◌ُقُلُ للَّهِ الْشُرِقُ وَالمُغْرِب :"Say: the East and the West both
belong to Allah." (2:115) But in order to institute a communal unity
among the Muslims scattered all over the world, Divine Wisdom
thought fit to assign them a particular and definite orientation which
could serve as a visible symbol of that unity. Now, this orientation
could have as easily been provided by the Baytul-Maqdis. But the
Ka'bah was finally chosen as the Qiblah in accordance with the wish of
the Holy Prophet , and the injunction was announced in the present
verse. The situation required that the Holy Qur'an should use the
phrase: "Turn your face toward the Ka'bah, or toward the Baytullah.'
But we actually find the Holy Qur'an saying: "Turn your face in the