Transliteration:( Wa lillaahil mashriqu walmaghrib; fa aynamaa tuwalloo fasamma wajhullaah; innal laaha waasi'un Aleem )
232. Once a party of the beloved Companions travelling at night had to perform their Esha Prayers. As it was dark they could not establish the direction of the Qibla and thus faced towards the direction of their thinking. Later, when they mentioned this incident to the Holy Prophet, Allah revealed this verse in which Muslims are instructed that whenever Muslims are in doubt about the true direction of the Qibla they should face the direction which they think is the Qibla as this is acceptable to Allah. This verse also relates to the Nafl Prayers offered by travellers in the conveyances (Vide Khazain, etc).
233. This verse is abrogated from the following verse: "Turn your faces (Oh Muslims) towards the same wherever you be" (S 2: V 150). When a traveller performs his Nafl prayers in the conveyance or when a person in a state of fear, offers his prayers then this verse will be followed.
115. And to Allah belong the east and the west, so wherever you turn (yourselves or your faces) there is the Face of Allah (and He is High above, over His Throne). Surely, Allah is Sufficient (for His creatures’ needs), Knowing.
This ruling brought comfort to the Messenger of Allah and his Companions, who were driven out of Makkah and had to depart from the area of Al-Masjid Al-Haram. In Makkah, the Messenger of Allah used to pray in the direction of Bayt Al-Maqdis, while the Ka`bah was between him and the Qiblah. When the Messenger migrated to Al-Madinah, he faced Bayt Al-Maqdis for sixteen or seventeen months, and then Allah directed him to face Al-Ka`bah in prayer. This is why Allah said,
(And to Allah belong the east and the west, so wherever you turn (yourselves or your faces) there is the Face of Allah (and He is High above, over His Throne)).
`Ali bin Abi Talhah said that Ibn `Abbas said, “The first part of the Qur’an that was abrogated was about the Qiblah. When the Messenger of Allah migrated to Al-Madinah, which was inhabited by the Jews, he was at first commanded to face Bayt Al-Maqdis. The Jews were happy, and the Messenger of Allah faced Bayt Al-Maqdis for some ten months. However, the Messenger of Allah liked to face the Qiblah of Ibrahim (Al-Ka`bah at Makkah), and he used to look to the sky and supplicate. So Allah revealed,
(Verily, We have seen the turning of your (Muhammad’s) face towards the heaven) until,
(turn your faces (in prayer) in that direction) (2:144).
The Jews were disturbed by this development and said, `What made them change the direction of the Qiblah that they used to face’ Allah revealed,
(Say (O Muhammad ): “To Allah belong both, east and the westâ€) and,
(So wherever you turn (yourselves or your faces) there is the Face of Allah (and He is High above, over His Throne)).â€
`Ikrimah said that Ibn `Abbas said,
(So wherever you turn (yourselves or your faces) there is the Face of Allah (and He is High above, over His Throne)) means, “Allah’s direction is wherever you face, east or west.†Mujahid said that,
(So wherever you turn (yourselves or your faces) there is the Face of Allah (and He is High above, over His Throne))
means, “Wherever you may be, you have a Qiblah to face, that is, Al-Ka`bah.â€
However, it was said that Allah sent down this Ayah before the order to face the Ka`bah. Ibn Jarir said, “Others said that this Ayah was revealed to the Messenger of Allah permitting the one praying voluntary prayers to face wherever they wish in the east or west, while traveling, when in fear and when facing the enemy.†For instance, Ibn `Umar used to face whatever direction his animal was headed and proclaim that the Messenger of Allah did the same, explaining the Ayah,
(So wherever you turn (yourselves or your faces) there is the Face of Allah).â€
That Hadith was also collected by Muslim, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa’i, Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Marduwyah, and its origin is in the Two Sahihs from Ibn `Umar and `Amr bin Rabi`ah without mentioning the Ayah. In his Sahih, Al-Bukhari recorded that Nafi` said that whenever Ibn `Umar was asked about the prayer during times of fear, he used to describe it and would then say, “When the sense of fear is worse than that, pray while standing, or while riding, whether facing the Qiblah or not.†Nafi` then said, “I think Ibn `Umar mentioned that from the Prophet .†It was also said that the Ayah was revealed about those who are unable to find the correct direction of the Qiblah in the dark or due to cloudy skies and, thus, prayed in a direction other than the Qiblah by mistake.
In his Tafsir of this Ayah (2:115), Al-Hafiz Ibn Marduwyah recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,
(What is between the east and the west is the Qiblah for the people of Al-Madinah, Ash-Sham and `Iraq.)
At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah recorded this Hadith with the wording,
(What is between the east and the west is a Qiblah.)
Ibn Jarir said, “The meaning of Allah’s statement;
(Surely, Allah is Sufficient (for His creatures’ needs), Knowing) is that Allah encompasses all His Creation by providing them with sufficient needs and by His generosity and favor. His statement,
(Knowing) means He is knowledgeable of their deeds and nothing escapes His watch, nor is He unaware of anything. Rather, His knowledge encompasses everything.â€
115. God is neither eastern nor western. East and west, north and south, and indeed all places and directions are His, though He is not confined to any particular place or direction. Hence, if any place or direction is fixed for worship this does not mean that God dwells there. Likewise, changes in the direction of Prayer is not a proper subject for controversy and dispute.
116. That is, God is neither limited, mean, narrow-minded, nor poor in resources. All such notions about God, which arise from considering Him as essentially similar to human beings, are erroneous. God’s realm is boundless and so is His vision and the range of His benevolence and mercy. Moreover, God’s knowledge is all-embracing. He knows who remembers Him, as well as where, when and why he does that.
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