2. Al-Baqara

That is a community that has passed away; theirs is what they have earned and yours is what you have earned; you shall not be asked about what they did a similar verse has already been mentioned above.

The fools the ignorant among the people that is the Jews and the idolaters will say ‘What matter has turned them the Prophet s and the believers from the direction they were facing in their prayers formerly?’ this being the Holy House bayt al-maqdis sc. Jerusalem; the sīn of sa-yaqūlu ‘they will say’ denotes the future tense and informs of the Unseen. Say ‘To God belong the East and the West that is all directions. Thus He commands that they face whichever direction He wills and there can be no objection. He guides whomever He will His guidance being to a straight path’ that is the religion of Islam and you are among these guided ones.

Thus in the same way that We guided you to it We appointed you O community of Muhammad (s) a midmost community excellent and upright that you might be witnesses to the people on the Day of Resurrection that their messengers delivered the Message to them; and that the Messenger might be a witness to you that he delivered the Message to you and We did not appoint make the direction for you now the direction you were facing that is the Ka‘ba the Prophet s used to face it in prayer but when he emigrated he was commanded to face the Holy House of Jerusalem in order to win the hearts of the Jews. He prayed in this direction for sixteen or seventeen months before he changed direction; except that We might know that it become manifest knowledge who followed the Messenger and believed in him from him who turned on his heels and returned to unbelief doubting the religion and thinking that the Prophet s was confused about this issue; and a number of them apostatised as a result of this— though it the change of direction were wa-in ‘though’ is softened and its noun apocopated originally being wa-innahā a grave thing troublesome for people save for those of them whom God has guided; but God would never cause your faith that is your prayers towards the Holy House of Jerusalem to be wasted but He will reward you for them the reason that this verse was revealed was that some had asked about the status of those that had died before the change of direction of prayer; truly God is Gentle with believing people Merciful when He does not let their deeds go to waste al-ra’fa means ‘intensity of mercy’ and is mentioned first to allow for the end rhyme of the verse with the preceding one.

We have indeed qad ‘indeed’ is for affirmation seen you turning your face about in the direction of the heaven looking around for the Revelation and longing for the command to face the Ka‘ba he the Prophet wished for this because it was the prayer-direction of Abraham and would be more conducive to the submission of the Arabs to Islam; now We will surely turn you to a direction that shall satisfy you that you will love. Turn your face in prayer towards the Sacred Mosque that is the Ka‘ba and wherever you are addressing the Muslim community turn your faces in prayer towards it. Those who have been given the Scripture know that it the change towards the Ka‘ba is the fixed truth from their Lord on account of the description in their Scripture of how the Prophet s would re-orient himself to it; God is not heedless of what you do O believers when you obey His command alternatively ta‘malūna ‘you do’ can be read ya‘malūna ‘they do’ in other words it would be referring to the Jews’ denial of the matter concerning the direction of prayer.

Yet if wa-la-in the lām is for oaths you should bring to those who have been given the Scripture every sign about your truthfulness in the matter of the direction of prayer they will not follow your direction out of obduracy and you are not a follower of their direction this is a categorical negation of his the Prophet’s desire that they become Muslims and of their desire that he return to their direction of prayer; neither are they the Jews and the Christians followers of one another’s direction. If you were to follow their whims the ones to which they summon you after the knowledge the revelation that has come to you then you if hypothetically you were to follow them will surely be among the evildoers.

Those to whom We have given the Scripture they recognise him Muhammad (s) as they recognise their sons because of the descriptions of him in their Scripture ‘Abd Allāh Ibn Salām said ‘I recognised him the moment I saw him as I would my own son; but my recognition of Muhammad (s) was more intense’; even though there is a party of them that conceal the truth that is his description while they know this truth which you Muhammad (s) follow.

Every person of every community has his direction wijha his qibla to which he turns muwallīhā ‘he turns to it’ is also read as muwallāhā ‘he is made to turn to it’ in his prayers so vie with one another in good works strive with acts of obedience and acceptance of these. Wherever you may be God will bring you all together gathering you on the Day of Resurrection and requiting you for your deeds; surely God has power over all things.

From whatever place you issue on a journey turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque; it is the truth from your Lord. God is not heedless of what you do ta‘malūna ‘you do’ may also be read as ya‘malūna ‘they do’ as already appears above sc. 2144; its repetition is intended to point out that the stipulation applies equally to being on a journey or otherwise.

From whatever place you issue turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque; and wherever you may be turn your faces towards it all of which is being repeated for emphasis so that there be not any argument from the people the Jews or the idolaters against you so that there be not any cause for contention regarding the change to a different direction of prayer. In this way their contentions against you will cease to exist both the contentions of the Jews when they say ‘He Muhammad (s) rejects our religion but follows our direction of prayer’ and of the idolaters when they say ‘He Muhammad (s) claims to follow the creed of Abraham but he contravenes his Abraham’s qibla’; excepting the evildoers among them acting in obstinacy who will say ‘He Muhammad (s) only changed to this direction because of his natural inclination towards the idolatrous religion of his forefathers’. The exceptive statement indicated by illā is a continuous one the meaning being ‘No one will have anything to say against you except for what these people say’; and do not fear them do not fear their arguing with you regarding the change to it the Ka‘ba but fear Me by complying with My command; and that I may perfect My grace upon you by guiding you to the principal rituals of your religion and that you may be guided to the truth wa-li-utimma ‘that I may perfect’ is a supplement to li-allā yakūna ‘that there be not’.