149. " and from whatever place you come forth, turn your
face towards
the sacred mosque. indeed, this is the truth from your lord.
and allah is not at all heedless of what you do."
150. " and from whatever place you come forth, turn your face (in
prayer)
towards the sacred mosque; and wherever you are,
turn your faces towards it,
so that people shall have no dispute against you,
save those of them that are unjust. have no awe of them,
but stand in awe of me; and that i may perfect my blessing upon you,
and so that you might be guided (aright)."
commentary :
in the previous verse where the direction
of the sacred mosque is
referred to, it concerns medina, the city where most muslims inhabited
at that time. but, in the first of the above verses, the meaning is more
general and it says that from wherever you come forth and set out for
travelling, turn your face towards the ka`bah in prayer.
" and from whatever place you come forth, turn your
face towards
the sacred mosque. ..."
here are some points and messages that can
be noted:
1. in numerous verses of the qur'an, the subject of the qiblah
and turning towards it is repeated and emphasized. these repetitions
are not undue. through every one of these verses, besides the
proposition of the qiblah, a new point is propounded. in the current
sura, 1 after commissioning the prophet (p.b.u.h.) and the
muslims to
turn their faces towards the qiblah, the sacred mosque, it says: " ...and
those who have been given the (earlier) book know well that it is the truth
from their lord...", because
they had learnt from their religious books
that the prophet of islam (p.b.u.h.) would pray towards two qiblahs, so,
"...we shall
turn you (in prayer) to a qiblah that you shall be pleased with",
in order to fulfil the prophecy
which was given to the ` people of the
book ' cited in their book which they were expecting.
here, the subject is emphasized again, thus: "...indeed, this is the
truth from your lord. ..."
in the next verse, there is
another reason mentioned for these
reiterations which will be referred to in the following.
2. whenever a new subject is proposed, the matter should
necessarily be reiterated to be renewed and settled in the minds and
hearts of people. it is narrated in a tradition that the first phrase in the
prayer call (i.e. allahu-akbar) is repeated four times in order that
people be prepared and receptive, but the phrases following that are
repeated only two times, because people's attention has already been
attracted by the proclamation of the call to prayer.
the lord warns those who disobey his command, saying:
"...and allah is not at all heedless of what you do."
in the second of the above verses, too,
immediately after the
ordinance of turning the face towards the sacred mosque, the lord
says:
"...so that people shall have no dispute against you..."
as it was formerly pointed out, the `
people of the book ' knew
that the prophet of islam (p.b.u.h.) would pray towards two qiblahs, so,
if that had not come to pass, they would have questioned or objected
that the prophet (p.b.u.h.) lacked the qualities mentioned in the earlier
heavenly books, or they would have sneered and despised the muslims
accusing them that they, who had not an independent qiblah for their
own, were the followers of the jewish qiblah. this objection was not,
of course, only from the side of the jews, but the pagans also assisted
them in their ridicules, criticizing : ` why does not muhammad respect
the ka`bah, the holy house built by abraham and ismail (a.s.),
exclusively for the prayer to god and does yeild towards the religious
centre of the jews? ' the hypocrites, too, were busy objecting to the
change of the qiblah. they said that the prophet (p.b.u.h.) was not
firm in his decision.
however, this verse, with emphasis and repetition, prepares the
muslims for acceptance and perseverance. it informs them that those
people who accept proof and reasons will not object to you, but those
who are wrong doers and unjustly conceal the truth will not stop
seeking pretexts.
"...so that people shall have no dispute against you, save
those of them that are unjust. ..."
therefore, you should neither give
heed to them nor be afraid of
them. you should fear only allah.
"...have no awe of them, but stand in awe of me; ..."
another point which is noteworthy, here,
is that the qiblah is the
symbol of monotheism. the qiblah, the direction of prayer, is the
emblem of the muslims. in nahjul-balaqah, sermon 173, the qiblah is
referred to as ` a clear sign, or a distinguishing flag '. idol worshippers
and star worshippers, when worshipping, turned towards idols or stars
or the moon. instead of those misguided directions, islam introduced
the ka`bah as the qiblah for muslims. thus turning towards the sacred
mosque is considered a sign of being mindful of the lord. some
traditions indicate that the prophet of islam (p.b.u.h.) usually sat
towards the direction of the qiblah. we are even advised by the holy
ahlul-bait (a.s.) to lie, to sleep and to sit down towards that direction.
this action has been counted as a form of worship. there are some
special obligatory ordinances on observing the qiblah while performing
certain ritual actions. for instance, slaughtering animals to be used for
food, burial of a muslim corpse in the grave, and establishing the
obligatory prayers should be done towards the qiblah. elimination of
bodily wastes while facing or with one's back to the qiblah is unlawful.
in addition to what was said in the above, the qiblah is the sign
and the factor of uniting muslims. if we look from above the earth
down at the muslims of the world, we see that they turn towards the
qiblah at least five times a day with special regularity and in a
particular order. throughout history, the ka`bah has been the center
point of the godly movements and revolutions, including that of
abraham (a.s.), prophet muhammad (p.b.u.h.), up to imam husayn's
(a.s.); and in the future, imam mahdi (may allah hasten his advent)
will start his blessed movement from the site of the ka`bah. then, we
conclude that:
1. the ka`bah is the qiblah of muslims, all of whom, wherever
they be, are commissioned to turn towards it when they stand praying.
" and from whatever place you come forth, turn your
face towards the
sacred mosque. indeed, this is the truth from your lord.
and allah is not at all heedless of what you do."
2. muslims should avoid doing anything
that causes their enemies
to seek pretext.
"...so that people shall have no dispute against you..."
3. independence is a ` value ' while
tolerating flattery is a disgrace.
4. the change of the qiblah is the fulfilment of the conditions
and qualities promised in the earlier divine books.
5. the change of the qibalh was a factor to nullify the vain
objections and pretexts of the ` people of the book' , pagans, and
hypocrites.
6. it is not right to be silent when there is injustice:
".... save those of them that are unjust....."
7. foreign enemies cannot be the greatest
danger for the muslims,
while impiety and having no awe of allah is the real danger.
8. appointing and independent qiblah for the muslims was to prepare the
perfection of allah ' blessing upon them.
"...and that i may perfect my blessig upon
you,...."
"...and so that you might be guided (aright)....."
9. appointing an independent qiblah for
muslims' prayers
towards the sacred mosque is a process for the guidance of believers.