﷽
*Surah Al-Baqara, Verse 143:*
وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا وَمَا جَعَلْنَا الْقِبْلَةَ الَّتِي كُنتَ عَلَيْهَا إِلَّا لِنَعْلَمَ مَن يَتَّبِعُ الرَّسُولَ مِمَّن يَنقَلِبُ عَلَىٰ عَقِبَيْهِ وَإِن كَانَتْ لَكَبِيرَةً إِلَّا عَلَى الَّذِينَ هَدَى اللَّهُ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُضِيعَ إِيمَانَكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Thus We have made you [true Muslims - real believers of Islamic Monotheism, true followers of Prophet Muhammad [Blessings and Peace be upon him] and his Sunnah (legal ways)], a Wasat (just) (and the best) nation, that you be witnesses over mankind and the Messenger (Muhammad [Blessings and Peace be upon him]) be a witness over you. And We made the Qiblah (prayer direction towards Jerusalem) which you used to face, only to test those who followed the Messenger (Muhammad [Blessings and Peace be upon him]) from those who would turn on their heels (i.e. disobey the Messenger). Indeed it was great (heavy) except for those whom Allāh guided. And Allāh would never make your faith (prayers) to be lost (i.e. your prayers offered towards Jerusalem). Truly, Allāh is full of kindness, the Most Merciful towards mankind.
*COMMENTARY*
Thus: By giving you a Qiblah of your own, most ancient in history, and most modern as a symbol of your organisation as a new nation (Ummat).
Justly balanced: The essence of Islam is to avoid all extravagances on either side. It is a sober, practical religion. But the Arabic word (wasat) also implies a touch of the literal meaning of intermediacy. Geographically Arabia is in intermediate position in the Old World, as was proved in history by the rapid expansion of Islam, north, south, west and east.
Witnesses: When two persons dispute, they advance extravagant claims. A just witness comes between them, and brings the light of reason to bear on them, pruning all their selfish extravagances. So the mission of Islam is curb, for instance, the extreme formalism of the Mosaic law and the extreme "other-worldliness" professed by Christianity. The witness must be unselfish, equipped with first-hand knowledge, and ready to intervene in the cause of justice. Such is the position claimed by Islam among rival systems. Similarly, within Islam itself, the position of witness to whom disputants can appeal is held by Muhammad Al-Mustafā (Blessings and Peace be upon him).
The Qiblah of Jerusalem might itself have seemed strange to the Arabs, and the change from it to the Ka'abah might have seemed strange after they had become used to the other. In reality one direction or another, or east or west, in itself did not matter. What mattered was the sense of discipline, on which Islam lays so much stress: which of us is willing to follow the directions of the chosen Prophet of Allāh? Mere quibblers about non-essential matters are tested by this.
What became of prayers with the Jerusalem Qiblah? It was equally efficacious before the new Qiblah was ordained. Allāh regards our faith: every act of true and genuine faith is efficacious with Him, even if formalists pick holes in such acts.
﷽
*Surah Al-Baqara, Verse 144:*
قَدْ نَرَىٰ تَقَلُّبَ وَجْهِكَ فِي السَّمَاءِ فَلَنُوَلِّيَنَّكَ قِبْلَةً تَرْضَاهَا فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنتُمْ فَوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُ وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ لَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا يَعْمَلُونَ
Verily! We have seen the turning of your (Muhammad's [Blessings and Peace be upon him]) face towards the heaven. Surely, We shall turn you to a Qiblah (prayer direction) that shall please you, so turn your face in the direction of Al-Masjid- al-Haram (at Makkah). And wheresoever you people are, turn your faces (in prayer) in that direction. Certainly, the people who were given the Scriptures (i.e. Jews and the Christians) know well that, that (your turning towards the direction of the Ka'bah at Makkah in prayers) is the truth from their Lord. And Allāh is not unaware of what they do.
*COMMENTARY*
This shows the sincere desire of Al-Mustafā (Blessings and Peace be upon him) to seek light from above in the matter of the Qiblah. Until the organisation of his own people into a well-knit community, with its distinctive laws and ordinances, he followed a practice based on the fact that the Jews and Christians looked upon Jerusalem as a sacred city. But there was no universal Qiblah among them. Some Jews turned towards Jerusalem, especially during the Captivity, as we shall see later. At the time of our Prophet (Blessings and Peace be upon him), Jerusalem was in the hands of the Byzantine Empire, which was Christian. But the Christians oriented their churches to the East (hence the word "orientation"), which is a point of the compass, and not the direction of any sacred place. The fact of the altar being in the East does not mean that every worshipper has his face to the east; for, according at least to modern practice, the seats in a church are so placed that different worshippers may face in different directions. The Preacher of Unity naturally wanted, in this as in other matters, a symbol of complete unity, and his heart was naturally delighted when the Qiblah towards the Ka'abah was settled. Its connection with Abraham gave it great antiquity: its character of being an Arab centre made it appropriate when the Message came in Arabic, and was preached through the union of the Arabs: at the time it was adopted, the little Muslim community was shut out of it, being exiles in Madinah but it became a symbol of hope and eventual triumph, of which Muhammad (Blessings and Peace be upon him) lived to see the fulfillment; and it also became the centre and gathering ground of all peoples in the universal pilgrimage, which was instituted with it.
The sacred mosque: i.e the mosque wherein the Ka'abah is located, in the sacred city of Makkah. It is not correct to suggest that the command making the Ka'abah the Qiblah abrogates verse 115 (Sūra Al-Baqarah), where it is stated that East and West belong to Allāh. This is perfectly true at all times, before and after the institution of the Qiblah. As if to emphasise this, the same words about East and West are repeated in this very passage; see verse 143 (Sūra Al-Baqarah). Where the Itqān mentions mansūkh in this connection. I am sorry I cannot follow that opinion, unless mansūkh is defined in a special way, as some of the commentators do.
Glimmering of such a Qiblah were already foreshadowed in Jewish and Christian practice but its universality was only perfected in Islam.
*Surah Al-Baqara, Verse 143:*
وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا وَمَا جَعَلْنَا الْقِبْلَةَ الَّتِي كُنتَ عَلَيْهَا إِلَّا لِنَعْلَمَ مَن يَتَّبِعُ الرَّسُولَ مِمَّن يَنقَلِبُ عَلَىٰ عَقِبَيْهِ وَإِن كَانَتْ لَكَبِيرَةً إِلَّا عَلَى الَّذِينَ هَدَى اللَّهُ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُضِيعَ إِيمَانَكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Thus We have made you [true Muslims - real believers of Islamic Monotheism, true followers of Prophet Muhammad [Blessings and Peace be upon him] and his Sunnah (legal ways)], a Wasat (just) (and the best) nation, that you be witnesses over mankind and the Messenger (Muhammad [Blessings and Peace be upon him]) be a witness over you. And We made the Qiblah (prayer direction towards Jerusalem) which you used to face, only to test those who followed the Messenger (Muhammad [Blessings and Peace be upon him]) from those who would turn on their heels (i.e. disobey the Messenger). Indeed it was great (heavy) except for those whom Allāh guided. And Allāh would never make your faith (prayers) to be lost (i.e. your prayers offered towards Jerusalem). Truly, Allāh is full of kindness, the Most Merciful towards mankind.
*COMMENTARY*
Thus: By giving you a Qiblah of your own, most ancient in history, and most modern as a symbol of your organisation as a new nation (Ummat).
Justly balanced: The essence of Islam is to avoid all extravagances on either side. It is a sober, practical religion. But the Arabic word (wasat) also implies a touch of the literal meaning of intermediacy. Geographically Arabia is in intermediate position in the Old World, as was proved in history by the rapid expansion of Islam, north, south, west and east.
Witnesses: When two persons dispute, they advance extravagant claims. A just witness comes between them, and brings the light of reason to bear on them, pruning all their selfish extravagances. So the mission of Islam is curb, for instance, the extreme formalism of the Mosaic law and the extreme "other-worldliness" professed by Christianity. The witness must be unselfish, equipped with first-hand knowledge, and ready to intervene in the cause of justice. Such is the position claimed by Islam among rival systems. Similarly, within Islam itself, the position of witness to whom disputants can appeal is held by Muhammad Al-Mustafā (Blessings and Peace be upon him).
The Qiblah of Jerusalem might itself have seemed strange to the Arabs, and the change from it to the Ka'abah might have seemed strange after they had become used to the other. In reality one direction or another, or east or west, in itself did not matter. What mattered was the sense of discipline, on which Islam lays so much stress: which of us is willing to follow the directions of the chosen Prophet of Allāh? Mere quibblers about non-essential matters are tested by this.
What became of prayers with the Jerusalem Qiblah? It was equally efficacious before the new Qiblah was ordained. Allāh regards our faith: every act of true and genuine faith is efficacious with Him, even if formalists pick holes in such acts.
﷽
*Surah Al-Baqara, Verse 144:*
قَدْ نَرَىٰ تَقَلُّبَ وَجْهِكَ فِي السَّمَاءِ فَلَنُوَلِّيَنَّكَ قِبْلَةً تَرْضَاهَا فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنتُمْ فَوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُ وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ لَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا يَعْمَلُونَ
Verily! We have seen the turning of your (Muhammad's [Blessings and Peace be upon him]) face towards the heaven. Surely, We shall turn you to a Qiblah (prayer direction) that shall please you, so turn your face in the direction of Al-Masjid- al-Haram (at Makkah). And wheresoever you people are, turn your faces (in prayer) in that direction. Certainly, the people who were given the Scriptures (i.e. Jews and the Christians) know well that, that (your turning towards the direction of the Ka'bah at Makkah in prayers) is the truth from their Lord. And Allāh is not unaware of what they do.
*COMMENTARY*
This shows the sincere desire of Al-Mustafā (Blessings and Peace be upon him) to seek light from above in the matter of the Qiblah. Until the organisation of his own people into a well-knit community, with its distinctive laws and ordinances, he followed a practice based on the fact that the Jews and Christians looked upon Jerusalem as a sacred city. But there was no universal Qiblah among them. Some Jews turned towards Jerusalem, especially during the Captivity, as we shall see later. At the time of our Prophet (Blessings and Peace be upon him), Jerusalem was in the hands of the Byzantine Empire, which was Christian. But the Christians oriented their churches to the East (hence the word "orientation"), which is a point of the compass, and not the direction of any sacred place. The fact of the altar being in the East does not mean that every worshipper has his face to the east; for, according at least to modern practice, the seats in a church are so placed that different worshippers may face in different directions. The Preacher of Unity naturally wanted, in this as in other matters, a symbol of complete unity, and his heart was naturally delighted when the Qiblah towards the Ka'abah was settled. Its connection with Abraham gave it great antiquity: its character of being an Arab centre made it appropriate when the Message came in Arabic, and was preached through the union of the Arabs: at the time it was adopted, the little Muslim community was shut out of it, being exiles in Madinah but it became a symbol of hope and eventual triumph, of which Muhammad (Blessings and Peace be upon him) lived to see the fulfillment; and it also became the centre and gathering ground of all peoples in the universal pilgrimage, which was instituted with it.
The sacred mosque: i.e the mosque wherein the Ka'abah is located, in the sacred city of Makkah. It is not correct to suggest that the command making the Ka'abah the Qiblah abrogates verse 115 (Sūra Al-Baqarah), where it is stated that East and West belong to Allāh. This is perfectly true at all times, before and after the institution of the Qiblah. As if to emphasise this, the same words about East and West are repeated in this very passage; see verse 143 (Sūra Al-Baqarah). Where the Itqān mentions mansūkh in this connection. I am sorry I cannot follow that opinion, unless mansūkh is defined in a special way, as some of the commentators do.
Glimmering of such a Qiblah were already foreshadowed in Jewish and Christian practice but its universality was only perfected in Islam.
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