Why should we always face a particular direction while doing our Salat prayer ?

amin

I see, Qibla as Holy place or the direction of holy place, the place considered to be that of God, an elevated place, the place we focus.
and Salat as words of praise of God, may be the best short songs used in the mosques, temples and other places of worship.
Single direction denotes single God, denotes our God's justice is common for all and maintains an unity which Mohammed/Quran brought forward. East or west is not a matter as per Quran.

I believe Places of worship can be built on a raised place anywhere inside the city/town they live and everyone face that at the time of worship.

Armanaziz

Salamun Alaikum.

Definitely an interesting and thought provoking topic. I am sharing my humble views below ? for your consideration only. I also look forward to other differing views to further verify my own understanding.

Is there any Qur?anic definition of the word Qibla?

Generally, Qur?an does not define terms ? but the definition of key terms are implicit in the verses of Qur?an.

I feel the key verses that we need to consider to understand the concept of ?Qibla? are 2143-145, 2149-150 and 2177.

Main takeaways from these verses include

Quibla has been assigned (or changed) only to test who follows the messenger and who turns away.
Disagreement over Qibla is expected and acknowledged but if we get carried away with the fancies of others from after the knowledge that comes to us, we will be doing wrong.
?Masjid Al-Haram? is prescribed as the Qibla for those who have been given the Qur?an so that mankind may not have an argument over the faithful.
Taking a Qibla towards east or west is not fundamental towards one?s attaining piety (al-birr).

Taking all these together, we can construct the following definition of Qibla

A Qibla is a focal point towards which we face (physically and spiritually) to express our acceptance of the teaching of a specific messenger. This is not fundamental to attaining piety but those who have knowledge of what is the normative practice of the messenger being followed ? it is wrong to turn away from it. Qur?an prescribes ?Masjid Al-Haram? as the qibla.

An analogy may be the ?assembly point? determined for fire-drill of buildings. The assembly point is not at all fundamental to saving one?s life from fire. In case of a real fire, getting out of the building quickly and safely is the highest priority ? not gathering at the ?assembly point?. But those who have the knowledge of the ?assembly point? would be doing wrong to intentionally avoid it ? because the ?assembly point? helps orderly evacuation.

Similarly, Qibla serves the purpose of fostering unity, ease of identification and orderly assembly for the followers of a specific messenger ? so it is wrong to ignore it for those who have knowledge of it. But other than this it is not fundamental to attaining piety.

Does God explicitly tell us via the Quran to face to the Masjid Al-Haram WHILE DOING THE SALA PAYER?
The only link that I have found between Qibla and contact prayer in the Quran was in the verse We inspired Moses and his brother. "Maintain your homes in Egypt for the time being, turn your homes into synagogues (Qibla), and maintain the Contact Prayers (Salat). Give good news to the believers."

Qur?an adopts a language that avoids strict prescription of any fixed form of ritual. It keeps the language related to rituals flexible and open to individual interpretation and understanding. But based on the qibla related verses (including the one mentioned by you) - Qur?an implicitly endorses the idea that if one is performing a ?physical? ritual to establish salaat (respect) of Allah, qibla should be the direction to face.

If Qibla means focal point that one should face during the contact prayer, how can one person turn his own home into such a focal point when praying inside his home? And how should they do their congregational prayer, when we suppose that each person has to face his own home ?

While praying inside the mentioned qibla (be it one?s home or a specific masjid) the idea of ?direction towards qibla? no longer applies. At that point any direction would suffice. Just like - at south pole all directions are towards north! It is not a ?show stopper? to accept the idea of a Qibla.

Before Prophet Moses departed Egypt with his community it is likely that he did not practice any congregational prayer. Such gathering would have made them an easy target for retaliation by the Pharaoh. After the exodus, the direction towards Egypt would be a common direction for the children of Israel travelling with Moses and hence congregational prayer would be possible. Qur?an in fact clarifies that the home ?in Egypt? was to be taken as the qibla. This is altogether a personal hypothesis ? not meant to be taken as a statement of fact.

The image that Muslims convey through the world is the one of a big crowd around the Ka?ba bowing and prostrating in the direction of this house. Is it not a typical image of idol worshipping? Why should God recommend a practice that would allow people to have argument against us?

Have you heard the story of ?The man, the boy and the donkey.? If not a link is here http//www.taleswithmorals.com/aesop-fable-the-man-the-boy-and-the-donkey.htm
The moral of the story is ? ?Please all and you will please none.? If the followers of Qur?an themselves debate and fight over qibla, of course mankind will have an argument over them (while the donkey will die). The key to avoid such arguments is to accept the decision from the scripture as a ?prescribed norm? and not debate over it.

On whether the practice indeed resemble idol worship ? my assessment is it does not matter. There are people on this very forum who considers the act of performing a ?sajdah? (irrespective of direction) to resemble a ?pagan worship?. Then there are people (namely the atheists) who would argue praying to an invisible God itself resembles a pagan practice at its essence. The act of animal slaughter looks "inhuman" the act of believing in Qur'an looks like "dumb faith" and the list goes on. So there is no end to such acquisitions. If we get too much carried away by what others think and how does it look - we can never come to a consensus of what is the right thing to do. What matters is - our intension and a correct understanding of why we are doing what.

Are there some relevant practical reasons why one should always do his sala prayer facing a particular direction?

Symbolic acceptance of Muhammad as a Messenger and Qur?an as a divine text.
Ease of recognition
Minimization of dispute and confusion during congregational prayer
A by-product benefit greater awareness of sense of direction. Note the efforts in determination of qibla by muslim scholars have contributed a lot towards development of geographic knowledge. (Some interesting reading at http//www.islamtomorrow.com/science2.asp#geo)

Note, if you ask the question ?Are there some relevant practical reasons why a physician should wear a white apron on duty?? you will probably get similar responses as above.

May Allah guide us all to the straight route.

Regards,
Arman

Wakas

w/salaam Arman,

Thank you for your interesting post. There is however a few issues in my view

Taking a Qibla towards east or west is not fundamental towards one?s attaining piety (al-birr).

Strictly speaking, east and west are not called qiblah in Quran, that is an interpretation on your part.

Qur?an implicitly endorses the idea that if one is performing a ?physical? ritual to establish salaat (respect) of Allah, qibla should be the direction to face.

Physical facing of a direction is an interpretation on your part.

While praying inside the mentioned qibla (be it one?s home or a specific masjid) the idea of ?direction towards qibla? no longer applies. At that point any direction would suffice. Just like - at south pole all directions are towards north! It is not a ?show stopper? to accept the idea of a Qibla.

I agree that it's not a "show stopper" but the above is a forced consequence of your interpretation. Of course, some may find that explanation acceptable.

After the exodus, the direction towards Egypt would be a common direction for the children of Israel travelling with Moses and hence congregational prayer would be possible. Qur?an in fact clarifies that the home ?in Egypt? was to be taken as the qibla.

This seems incorrect.

You are assuming 1087 is "after the exodus" - what is your Quranic evidence?
how do you explain the word "tabawwa" (~settle) in 1087?
1087 actually says "make (plural) your houses (plural) a qiblah (singular)" - how do you explain this in your view?

On whether the practice indeed resemble idol worship ? my assessment is it does not matter. There are people on this very forum who considers the act of performing a ?sajdah? (irrespective of direction) to resemble a ?pagan worship?. Then there are people (namely the atheists) who would argue praying to an invisible God itself resembles a pagan practice at its essence. The act of animal slaughter looks "inhuman" the act of believing in Qur'an looks like "dumb faith" and the list goes on. So there is no end to such acquisitions. If we get too much carried away by what others think and how does it look - we can never come to a consensus of what is the right thing to do. What matters is - our intension and a correct understanding of why we are doing what.

I agree with the sentiment.

Abdoul

Peace be upon all of you

Thanks for your interesting postings

I still have some questions which bother me. This is my view. Please correct me if I am wrong.

This two assertions seems to be inconsistence.

On whether the practice indeed resemble idol worship ? my assessment is it does not matter. (?) If we get too much carried away by what others think and how does it look - we can never come to a consensus of what is the right thing to do. What matters is - our intension and a correct understanding of why we are doing what.

?Masjid Al-Haram? is prescribed as the Qibla for those who have been given the Qur?an so that mankind may not have an argument over the faithful.

The Qibla has been assigned ? so that mankind may not have an argument over the faithful?. But if the word ?Qibla? means ?prayer direction? mankind may have argument against us since God is everywhere. And we will just be like worshippers of the Ka'aba.

While praying inside the mentioned qibla (be it one?s home or a specific masjid) the idea of ?direction towards qibla? no longer applies. At that point any direction would suffice. Just like - at south pole all directions are towards north! It is not a ?show stopper? to accept the idea of a Qibla.

If so, The command in ( "Maintain your homes in Egypt for the time being, turn your homes into synagogues, and maintain the Contact Prayers (Salat). Give good news to the believers.&quot is no longer relevant for Moses and his brother as far as they live in Egypt. Just like it would be irrelevant to tell to the people of south pole to do their sala prayer towards north.

Qur?an adopts a language that avoids strict prescription of any fixed form of ritual. It keeps the language related to rituals flexible and open to individual interpretation and understanding.

Maybe. But if some practice may be misinterpreted by people Qur?an make it clear that one commit no sin to do it (, ). Since Idol worshiping is the biggest sin, in my personnal opinion all pratices of God that resemble a "Idol worship" should be clear enough. Note that a lot verses treat on qibla (, and ) but none of them tell us "explicitly" to do the salat prayer toward a particular direction.

Note, if you ask the question ?Are there some relevant practical reasons why a physician should wear a white apron on duty?? you will probably get similar responses as above.

I think a physician should wear white apron on duty for hygiene reasons. Thus, they could easily see dirtiness on it.

May God guide us.

Armanaziz

Salamun Alaikum.

w/salaam Arman,

Thank you for your interesting post. There is however a few issues in my view

Taking a Qibla towards east or west is not fundamental towards one?s attaining piety (al-birr).

Strictly speaking, east and west are not called qiblah in Quran, that is an interpretation on your part.

Verse 2177 begins with "Laysa albirra an tuwalloo wujoohakum qibalaalmashriqi walmaghribi..."

I believe a literal translation is ... "It is not piety that you turn your face towards the qibla of east or west...". Am I missing something?

Physical facing of a direction is an interpretation on your part.

The exact words that I used were "Qur?an implicitly endorses..." - I did not say Qur'an mandates or even directly endorses.
A comparison is - the battle of Badr. If one solely tries to establish if Qur'an says that there was a battle at Badr - it will be difficult to establish, but there is a implicit endorsement of this event in 3123. Only someone with prior knowledge of Badr events would find this endorsement. Similarly only someone with a prior understanding of Qibla as a physical direction for prayer would find endorsement in Qur'an but it cannot be established directly.

You can call this "interpretation", I didn't claim otherwise.

I agree that it's not a "show stopper" but the above is a forced consequence of your interpretation. Of course, some may find that explanation acceptable.

I only tried to highlight that any directional scale needs a reference point or a zero point. Even the scale determined using lattitude and longitude is no exception.

This seems incorrect.

You are assuming 1087 is "after the exodus" - what is your Quranic evidence?
how do you explain the word "tabawwa" (~settle) in 1087?
1087 actually says "make (plural) your houses (plural) a qiblah (singular)" - how do you explain this in your view?
No, I am not assuming this. I covered both scenarios before and after the exodus. Before exodus making the own house as qibla (focal point) makes sense because of security concerns. Per my understanding, make your houses as qibla means you do not need any other focal point other than your house. Perhaps, Pharaoh and his priests wanted everyone to pray towards the direction of some egyptian temple - which Allah nullified. This is purely my assumption, though.
I understand this means Moses should return to egypt (from his initial departure). As of now I have no other explanation - but quite curious to know if you/anyone have one.
I believe my prior explanation suffices - it is not clear to me if this contradicts what I explained.

Thanks for your constructive inputs.

May Allah guide us all to the straight route.

Regards,
Arman

Wakas

peace Arman,

Re 2177
According to corpus and other reference works I have it is a different word form (i.e. a verb meaning ~towards, not a noun qiblah)
http//corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=qbl#(21776)

Hence my statement.

Before exodus making the own house as qibla (focal point) makes sense because of security concerns. Per my understanding, make your houses as qibla means you do not need any other focal point other than your house. Perhaps, Pharaoh and his priests wanted everyone to pray towards the direction of some egyptian temple - which Allah nullified. This is purely my assumption, though.

It is saying to all make your houses a qiblah. I only see two possible understandings of this

each one makes their own house a qiblah
the houses collectively are made a qiblah

If qiblah is taken as "prayer direction" then
(1) doesn't make sense as this would render direction irrelevant when inside the house and if away from the house each person would have a different direction (unless very far from their houses), thus making the command seem unhelpful/impractical/unusual at best and illogical at worst.
(2) only works if all the houses are very close together and the people spoken of are far enough away from them so they can all face one direction, but as you say it is unlikely congregational gatherings would take place if they were under threat where they lived.

So, according to you, which one is your view (1) or (2) or something else?

Perhaps this is why many Traditional tafsirs say qiblah means "place of prayer" here. How convenient. Assuming you've read my link you will know my view is different.

With regards to the meaning of "settle (dual)", I take it as is and have no issue with it. It's only an issue if one claims 1087 is about exodus or after the exodus, or returning after exodus (no idea how that works). It seems odd. You will note for example, contradictory positions in the free-minds translation and reformist translation of this word. The former says seek out homes, the latter says leave their homes.

Abdoul

Peace.

It seems that there are many others problems with the traditionnal understanding of Qibla (Prayer direction). The followings are from http//mypercept.co.uk/articles/meaning-masjid-al-haram-Quran.html. Thanks to Wakas for the link.

NB AQ = Al Qur'an
AMAL = Al MaSJiD Al Haram

The following is a list of the problems regarding this traditional explanation

It is entirely an interpretation based on external sources (i.e. traditions). The terms "kaabah", "mecca", "AMAH", "turn your wajh/face/consideration", "masjid" etc are NEVER discussed elsewhere in AQ involving a specific physical direction, nor is an example given of anyone performing salat in a particular direction. Some cite 4102 but please see part 1 of this series for its analysis.
The word "qiblah", and its root (QBL), cannot be shown to clearly mean "prayer direction" in any AQ occurrence.
All traditional commentators translate the only other occurrence of the specifc noun "qiblah" (apart from these verses) in 1087 as "oratories / places of worship" not "prayer direction". The likely reason is that to do so would make little sense as 1087 says "...and make your houses a qiblah...". Further, they turn it into a plural here, whilst elsewhere it is singular.
In addition to 2142, the following verses also clearly imply turning to a specific direction is irrelevant, e.g. 2115 says "for God is the east and the west so wherever you turn so there is God's wajh/presence/consideration...", 2177 "...it is not righteousness that you turn your wujuh/faces/considerations towards/qibala the east and the west...". Note the similar words used "turn/walla", "wherever/ayna", "wajh/face/consideration", and these messages (the only ones of their kind) are only found in chapter 2, and the only times verb form 2 of "turn" is used in chapter 2 are 2115, 2142-150, 2177. Some commentators explain this away by saying there was no prayer direction initially, and later this was abrogated, and so on. However, note that in terms of sequence, this same message is given prior to AND after the "change of qiblah" verses. Interestingly, some traditional commentators accept that any direction is not special, and the only thing that makes it special is God having imposed it, no other reason.
The verses do not say turn in the direction of the "Kaabah", but AMAH. One may ask then, what does one do once inside AMAH or next to it.
The verses do not say turn your wajh DURING salat, this is an inserted interpretation. In fact, it explicitly says "wherever you are" / "wherever thou start or come forth", implying no limitation, and if so, this would make it impossible to face one direction all the time.
Technically, it is impossible to face an object on a spheroid (i.e. earth) if you are a long distance away from it. One actually faces a random point in space, and even if one were to draw a line on the earth's surface in a direction towards the intended object being even one degree off can result in being many miles away from the object. Thus, it is actually near impossible to do, unless in close proximity to the object, so if one wishes to take this interpretation, one must accept facing one direction is symbolic only.

Note how 2141 clearly implies the past is the past, but according to the traditional understanding the verses which follow are about resuming the qiblah of Abraham et al. Seems a mixed message.

The reason given for the apparent change in qiblah is "not will be for the people against you debate", and "that I may complete My favour upon you and so that you may be guided". The traditional commentators try to explain these away using traditions, see Al Jalalayn (altafsir.com), ibn Kathir (qtafsir.com), Asad (quranix.net). Interestingly, traditional Islamic history shows that their relations with the Jewish tribes of Medina only worsened after this point - potentially contradicting the reasoning offered in AQ.
2145 says "...nor will they follow each other's qiblah..." - a much missed point is the fact that the traditional understanding of "qiblah" as "prayer direction" requires the people of the book to have a minimum of TWO different "qiblah" or "prayer directions" in order to make sense logically, i.e. Jews pray one direction, Christians pray another. I did not find a commentator who explained this away. It is possible they did not realise this. However, there is apparently some evidence to suggest early Christians prayed facing east, and Jews faced Jerusalem, thus satisfying the two-minimum criteria. To me the context of this suggests people can have many qiblah, even their own individual qiblah, i.e. more than two.
If these verses were revealed in Medina, as alleged, then the direction of Jerusalem from there is clearly north-west, not west. Further, there may be some evidence Christians prayed to the east, but Jews do not pray to the west, thus the use of "east" and "west" in 2142 are unlikely meant to be taken as discussing prayer directions, as some claim. Most traditional commentators do not claim this however.
If facing the cuboid called "Kaabah" pleased the messenger, as implied in 2144, then it should be noted it was full of idols at the time, as even accepted in traditional sources. They allege that since it was the first house dedicated to worship, built by Abraham, this was more important than the fact it was filled with idols and a pagan symbol, hence "pleased".
IF the cuboid called "Kaabah" was also the qiblah of Abraham, as agreed upon by traditionalists, then it should be noted prophets Moses and Jesus (who came after Abraham) were NEVER recorded, in any source, as visiting it nor facing it during prayer. This would be extremely unusual. Thus, the explanation sometimes given is that Jerusalem was the legitimate qiblah for Moses/Jesus, and then the original qiblah (i.e. cuboid called Kaabah) was restored with the final revelation, i.e. Quran. This requires us to believe for some reason God changed it, then restored it, and now seemingly assigns blame to the people of the book for not accepting this change. Can we really blame them for not changing, as this explanation is tantamount to God being the source of confusion, which is unacceptable in my view. Further, it is implied in 2146 that some of the people of the kitab/book know that this change is the truth, implying somewhere in their own scriptures this qiblah is mentioned or that their qiblah will be superseded by a future messenger etc - if so, where is this information? Perhaps further research needs to be done in this area.
AMAH as a building likely did not exist at the time, as admitted by traditional sources, and refers to the area/site (see Encyclopaedia of Quran, volume 3, p77). How this was delineated is anyone's guess. Please note some commentators regard AMAH as Mecca in some verses, e.g. 928.
As is clear from the last part of 2144, the only requirement for knowing the true "qiblah" is to be given the decree/scripture from our Lord. There is no requirement to have a compass or to consult a geographical map to know the true "qiblah" from our Lord.
IF the Jerusalem qiblah was appointed by God, then this indirectly implies the messenger was dissatisfied with such a qiblah when 2144 says "...We see thy face/consideration shifting in the sky..." and "...that will please thee...", i.e. was the messenger dissatisfied with a command from God?
The use of masculine suffix pronoun "hu/it" in these verses is somewhat problematic (see bold blue in the above translation), as IF "it" refers to AMAH as a physical building then it seems odd (e.g. they recognise it/AMAH as they recognise their sons). Tafsir Al Jalalayn states the "it" in 2146 refers to Muhammad, Ibn Kathir says it could be Muhammad or Kaabah but unfortunately for him the latter is a feminine noun so it cannot be that. Perhaps Ibn Kathir meant AMAH. Some translators imply the "it" refers to the qiblah but again, this is a feminine noun (see the use of feminine "ha/it" in 2143 for confirmation of this). For me, the variance is telling. It should be strongly noted that in AQ Abraham is never said to have built AMAH, nor is it explicitly mentioned in his presence, thus for the people of the writ/decree to link this to Abraham and recognise AMAH as the truth is somewhat difficult.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to state with certainty what the masculine pronoun "hu" refers to, but in my humble opinion, the flow and logic of the verses suggest it=AMAH, especially considering the usage of "it is the truth from your Lord" in 2144, 2147 and 2149.

1 2145 would imply that if the messenger were to follow their qiblah after these revelations then he would be a wrongdoer and following their desires, yet he was apparently following it previously. Is there a precedent for this in AQ, i.e. doing X is allowed then a future revelation clearly changes doing X to desires/wrongdoing? Not to my knowledge.

The expression "turn + wajh", is used in 679 and rendered as "I shall turn my face to the One who created the heavens and the earth..." but explained as "making his religion and works sincere" (e.g. Ibn Kathir, Ibn Abbas), likely because this was prior to the alleged building of the cuboid called "Kaaba", thus to render it as a physical direction when such a place did not exist would be problematic for Traditionalists, yet they take this same phrase to mean physical directional command here. Also see "wajh" in 'Verbal Idioms of Quran' by Mustansir Mir. This shows that this phrase does have a link to mindset/sincerity/intention/approach/etc even in traditional sources. The phrase is also used in 2822 (albeit "turn" is verb form 5 not 2) and likely denotes an actual physical turning of one's face, but uses the Arabic word "tilq'aa" for "towards" not "shatra (in the direction)" like these verses. Perhaps "til'qaa" is more appropriate for a physical turning towards, also see 747. It is somewhat peculiar "shatra" is used in 2144-150, rather than the more common "ila/to" for example, IF it did mean a physical face turning towards/to something.
As a side note, also recall how in part 2 it was shown the phrase "aqim wajh" had no link to a physical face or directional command.
IF it was a reference to turning towards another direction in prayer, then to me, it seems odd that in 2142 it states the foolish (al sufahau) will ask "what has turned them from..." when this seems like a reasonable question to ask. Think about it, if you were there as an observer, and a group prayed towards X then Y for about 18 months (as the traditional story goes) then back to X again, wouldn't you also ask "why"? If so, you are of the foolish ones according to the traditional understanding.

Clearly the traditional position has issues, thus is there an alternative understanding that fits better?

Please, can somebody help me.

May God guide all fo us.

amin

Why should we focus on a direction?

We should go back to early days when people do mostly hunting and related jobs, when there were no communication tools like what we have, How a mosque or a raised building should have helped a community of people in multiple ways, How living in unity should have helped them survive even in harsh deserts and other lands. God is the COMMON GOOD and making everyone focus and believe on the common goodness should be the objective of the Salat ritual. Even animals do that live in groups, follow herds or single paths etc.. just for their common Goodness.

Armanaziz

Salamun Alaikum.

Thanks to brother Wakas for the input regarding 2177. This is useful, I'll take this into consideration.

From the aricle links provided by brother Wakas, it seems that AMAH as Qibla has been proposed to mean "Inviolable time of submission" is the "focal point". This interpretation is still somewhat vague for me and also I am confused how this relates to "houses" as Qibla for people of Moses. In the definition I composed for Qibla - I tried to define it as a "focal point" both physically and spiritually. As of now, it is my impression that if both these meanings are taken parallelly only then the related verses make most sense. I am not claiming it is a 100% clear explanation though - and hence I remain open to exploring new interpretations and understandings.

May Allah guide us all to the straight route.

Regards,
Arman

Man_of_Faith

I would direct my prayers towards my heart, or rather mind. This is the best submission and hence "God's" spirit is in me. If I pray towards something externally then that is my idol.

Or like I have sarcastically said before, twist and turn 360 degrees around me in all directions and finally sit in front of a mirror and consider myself had my exercise for the day.

The easiest is to direct prayers into the "ether", mind and the energy around us. "God" is the Foundation, the "concrete" around is, which is not actually concrete but all energy in disguise.

Be of one in God

Wakas

peace Arman, all,

From the aricle links provided by brother Wakas, it seems that AMAH as Qibla has been proposed to mean "Inviolable time of submission" is the "focal point". This interpretation is still somewhat vague for me and also I am confused how this relates to "houses" as Qibla for people of Moses.

Did you manage to read all of the article? It is a lengthy article and lots to digest, and should be read in conjunction with this article also.

The article's findings suggest the most likely meaning of qiblah is
focal-point focus/centre of interest/attention or activity

Many things could be a focal-point (i.e. a focus of interest/attention/activity). For example, if a university student is busy working hard trying to graduate from their course, spending much time and thought on this, then it could be said their qiblah is that degree, or to pass the course or graduation etc.
If a person is a sprint athlete and they are training regular, eating right, entering sprint competitions etc in order to qualify for the olympics, then it could be said their qiblah is olympic qualification.
If a person is a chef and thinks about food a lot, how to improve it, studies and cooks regular because they want to become a Michelin star chef, then it could be said their qiblah is the michelin star.

As you can see, many things could be a qiblah, i.e. someone's focus of interest/attention/activity.

In 1087 it is advised to the children of israel to make your houses a qiblah, which fits perfectly as they were under threat and persecuted by the authority, thus they may not have been able to congregate publicly in groups or discuss matters openly or have public weddings, preach their faith, recite/teach scripture, settle disputes etc but they would be able to do that in their houses.
Thus, it makes perfect sense to make their houses a focal-point for such matters etc.

With regard to qiblah in verses 2142-150 I recommend you read all the article, as it is discussed there.
Put simply, "al masjid al haram" means "the inviolable time of submission/honour/paying respect" and refers to the time-period/event of the inviolable months wherein al hajj can take place, various restrictions are in place in an area. You will note that The Quran never mentions this period/event until much later in its discourse (which explains the change in qiblah)

in my view, the reason being is that now the believers had grown in number, and all they needed was a common qiblah to converge upon, to bring them together and triumph over the opposition, and God chose for them the perfect vehicle the inviolable time of submission/honour/paying respect.

In the definition I composed for Qibla - I tried to define it as a "focal point" both physically and spiritually. As of now, it is my impression that if both these meanings are taken parallelly only then the related verses make most sense.

Note in the examples of qiblah I gave it involves someone exerting themselves both physically, as well as mentally (and perhaps spiritually) thus your meaning can fit BUT if you include physically facing in one direction, then the problems highlighted in thread will resurface.

As I said, I recommend reading the article as it goes into more detail.

Armanaziz

Salamun alaikum.

I have no problem with Qibla as "focal-point focus/centre of interest/attention or activity". However, form the Qur'anic narration that the earlier Qibla was assigned to make known who follows the messengers and who turns on his heel - it seems to me that turning the face towards the Qibla while performing salat rituals was also part of Qibla being the focal point.

If Qibla as physical direction is the null hypothesis, I have not yet found enough evidence to reject the null ) But I am open to examining new evidences.

May Allah guide us all to the straight route.

Regards,
Arman

Wakas

peace,

I have no problem with Qibla as "focal-point focus/centre of interest/attention or activity". However, form the Qur'anic narration that the earlier Qibla was assigned to make known who follows the messengers and who turns on his heel - it seems to me that turning the face towards the Qibla while performing salat rituals was also part of Qibla being the focal point.

That is one possible way of interpreting it, not the only way.

If Qibla as physical direction is the null hypothesis, I have not yet found enough evidence to reject the null ) But I am open to examining new evidences.

I wouldn't go as far as to say the issues raised in the article and this thread for qiblah=prayer direction are insurmountable, but certainly food for thought. What I have found when discussing this subject with others is that the various views will involve various degrees of assumptions, indirect evidence, interpolations etc in order to work. In my view it's good to examine the options on the table.

Those who listen to what is being said, then follow the best of it.
These are the ones God has guided, and these are the ones who possess intelligence.

Abdoul

Peace,

I would direct my prayers towards my heart, or rather mind. This is the best submission and hence "God's" spirit is in me. If I pray towards something externally then that is my idol.

Very interesting view.

You shall submit to Him, reverence Him, observe the Contact Prayers (Salat), and - whatever you do - do not ever fall into idol worship.

Thanks to everybody for your contributions. I am open to further explanations.

May God guide all of us.

FindingRightPathToAllah

Peace,

I have stopped facing Qibla very recently. I am not sure if it is the right direction, and I don't think it is. It seems idol worship. I still have the habit with me though. I have faced that direction all my life, so I guess it is hard to let go, and I forget about not facing it anymore. I tend to face it during prayer, and then I change the direction when I remember.

Man_of_Faith

It seems idol worship.

It is idol worship. You treat the building in the city called Mecca like an image of "God".

It is arguable that even prostrating with direction towards the ether can be considered a violation of commandments as well, because you make an image out of "God" as in objectifying "God".

Have faith