The Qiblah Turns Toward Makkah

A very important event occurred about fourteen months into the hijrah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and that was the change of the qiblah. In Makkah, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) would pray toward Jerusalem, but with al-Kaʿbah between him and Jerusalem, so he would be facing al-Kaʿbah and also facing Jerusalem. But now that he was in Madīnah, al-Kaʿbah was in the opposite direction from Jerusalem, so when he was praying, his back was toward al-Kaʿbah. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) wanted to face al-Kaʿbah, but he did not dare to ask Allah (swt) about it. So Allah (swt) revealed āyāt in which the Muslims were told to face the qiblah of Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him) — to face al-Kaʿbah.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) prayed toward the new qiblah, and one of the Companions who had been with him went back to his people, a few miles out of Madīnah, and found them praying ʿAṣr toward Jerusalem. So he told them, while they were still in prayer, "I testify, I bear witness, that I just prayed with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) toward Makkah." So they turned, in their prayer, to face the new qiblah — that shows the obedience they had to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and also the trust they had among one another. They immediately turned in their prayer and faced the new qiblah. But this event did not pass without causing controversy; in fact, it was a very controversial event, and Allah (swt) revealed more than forty āyāt of Sūrat al-Baqarah dealing with this incident alone.

Ibn al-Qayyim says this was a test from Allah (swt) for the people. He said it was a test for the idolaters, because the idolaters said, "He has reverted back to our qiblah, because al-Kaʿbah was the qiblah of the pagan worshippers of Arabia. He has reverted back to our qiblah, and he will revert back to our religion" — just as he reverted back to their qiblah, he would also revert back to their religion. Ibn al-Qayyim says it was a test for the hypocrites, who said that Muḥammad (peace be upon him) did not know what to do, and that he changes his mind. It was a test from Allah (swt) for the Jews, who said, "He has left the qiblah of the prophets before him" — and that showed, to them, that Muḥammad (peace be upon him) was not a prophet of Allah, because they considered that Jerusalem was the qiblah of the prophets. And it was a test for the believers, to see whether they would stand firm on the orders of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and change the qiblah with him or not. So it was a trial from Allah (swt) for all four of these groups. Al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib, in an authentic narration, says that the foolish among the people refers to the Jews:

Who is the one who created al-Kaʿbah, Makkah? Who is the one who created Jerusalem? It all belongs to Allah (swt). To Allah belongs the east and the west; therefore it is up to Allah to choose which qiblah is faced. Everything belongs to Him, so He has the authority to say where to pray — because the Jews were saying, "Allah cannot change His mind. Either the first qiblah was right or the second qiblah is right. If the first qiblah was right, then your prayers now are not accepted, and if the second qiblah is right, then your old prayers are not accepted." So Allah (swt) responds by this ayah, and then the next ayah makes the believers ummatan wasaṭan, a moderate community, that they will be witnesses over the people, and the Messenger will be a witness over them. Ibn Kathīr comments on this and says: likewise, We have made you the best of nations, the very essence of the world, the most noble of all groups, the most honourable of the ancient and the high-born, so that you may be witnesses on the Day of Judgement against those who have combined against you, and so that they may give testimony on that day to your great virtue.^* It was so that Allah might make evident who would follow the Messenger from who would turn back on his heels — so it was a test, and indeed it is difficult, except for those whom Allah has guided. It was difficult to change the qiblah, but it was easy for the ones whom Allah has guided, and never would Allah have caused the believers to lose their faith. This mattered because the Jews said, "What about the Muslims who died facing the old qiblah? That means all of their effort is wasted." So Allah (swt) says that Allah will not waste their efforts, and that Allah is to the people kind and merciful.

Allah (swt) had seen the turning of the Messenger's face toward the heavens; He wanted the qiblah to change, and would surely turn him to a qiblah with which he would be pleased — so turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, and wherever you are, turn your faces toward it. Those who have been given the Scripture know that it is the truth from their Lord, and Allah is not unaware of what they do. And if every sign were brought to those given the Scripture, they would not follow this qiblah, nor would the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) be a follower of their qiblah, nor would they be followers of one another's qiblah — so if he were to follow their desires after the knowledge that had come to him, he would then be among the wrongdoers, and anybody who follows the People of the Book today, after already knowing the truth, is among the wrongdoers. Those to whom the Scripture was given know him, Muḥammad, as they know their own sons, but a party of them conceal the truth while they know it; the truth is from your Lord, so never be among the doubters. For each religious following there is a direction it faces, so race to all that is good; wherever you may be, Allah will bring you forth for judgement all together, and Allah is over all things competent.

This is an important point here. People might blame the Muslims for doing some things which are Islamic, which they know to be the truth. In every age and time, people pick on some things in Islam. In one age they will say, "Islam is oppression to women," and in another age they will say, "Islam is giving too many rights to women." It changes. At one point in time people will say, "Islam is a religion of violence; Islam is this, Islam is that." Allah (swt) is telling them: fear them not, but fear Me. Do what Allah wants from you — that is what counts. Do what Allah wants from you, and forget about what the people are going to say. So fear them not, but fear Me, and it is so that My favour may be completed upon you, and that you may be guided — every new order that comes from Allah is a favour from Allah. This was the incident of the changing of the qiblah, which was very controversial in its time, and it was a test. It was a test for all the people, just as everything else is a test from Allah (swt), to see whether one will pass or fail, whether one will accept it or not, how strong one's faith in Allah (swt) is.