THE JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME WITH PROPHET MUHAMMAD THE PROPHET OF ALLAH 029 THE DIRECTION OF PRAYER by Khadeijah A. Stephens Copyright © 1984-2012 by Allah.com Muhammad.com Mosque.com Khadeijah A. Stephens Bismillah Ir Rahman Ir Raheem The Direction of Prayer The Communities of Medina In Medina there were now three communities: Muslims, People of the Book and unbelievers. The Jews and a handful of Nazarenes (followers of Prophet Jesus) and Christians (followers of Paul), or the Koran refers to them 'People of the Book', offered their prayers in the common direction of Jerusalem, as it was there that many Prophets had preached. The unbelievers on the other hand would turn themselves toward their many idols housed within the confines of Ka’bah in Mecca. The Change in the Direction of Prayer It was now Sha’ban 2 H. (February 624 CE) and until that time the Prophet had offered his prayers in the direction of Jerusalem rather than the direction of Ka’bah. However, his heart was far from being settled about the matter. Instinctively, he wished to offer his prayer facing the direction of Ka’bah, the House his ancestors, Prophets Abraham and Ishmael rebuilt so many centuries before, but the fact that there were so many idols in and around it prevented him from doing so. The matter weighed heavily upon his heart until Allah directed him in the following verses sent down at the time of the Asr afternoon prayer on a Tuesday, sometime in the middle of the month of Shaban. "We have seen you turning your face towards the heaven. We shall surely turn you to a direction that shall satisfy you. So turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque (built by Abraham); wherever you are, turn your faces to it. Those to whom the Book was given know this to be the truth from their Lord. Allah is not inattentive of what they do. But even if you brought those to whom the Book had been given every proof, they would not accept your direction, nor would you accept theirs; nor would any of them accept the direction of the other. If after all the knowledge you have been given you yield to their desires, then you will surely be among the harmdoers." Koran 2:144-145 and "The truth comes from your Lord, so do not be among the doubters. And for everyone is a direction for which he turns. So race in goodness. And wherever you are, Allah will bring you all together. He has power over all things. From wherever you emerge, turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque. This is surely the truth from your Lord. Allah is never inattentive of what you do. From wherever you emerge, turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque, and wherever you are, face towards it, so that the people will have no argument against you, except the harm-doers among them. Do not fear of them, fear Me, so that I will perfect My Favor to you and that you will be guided." Koran 2:147-150 As the Companions who had offered their prayer behind the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi was sallam) were leaving the Mosque they passed by some of their fellow Muslims who were bowing facing the direction of Jerusalem. A Companion addressed them saying, "By Allah, I bear witness that I have just offered the prayer with the Messenger of Allah (salla Allahu alihi was sallam) facing the direction of Mecca." Upon hearing that, they changed their direction to face the Ka’bah and from that time onward the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) and his followers offered their prayers facing the direction of the Ka’bah in Mecca. The Mosque in which the verses were sent down was known from then onwards as "The Mosque of the Two Qiblahs" - Qiblah meaning direction of prayer. You will recall the story of Isra and Mirage when Allah chose Jerusalem to be the site of the Prophet’s ascent through the heavens rather than Mecca as being a highly significant sign to the Jews that their religious authority had been stripped from them and entrusted to a Prophet from another race. The change in the direction of prayer was an endorsement of that highly significant sign. Before the advent of the Nazarenes and Christians, the Jews directed their prayers towards Jerusalem and prided themselves that the Nazarenes and Christians, and up until now, the Muslims had done the same. In the eyes of the Jews they deemed it an acknowledgement of their own racial importance. Without a doubt, Islam acknowledges the significance of Jerusalem as a very Holy site but the changing of the direction of prayer was by no means to demean Jerusalem. But to the Jews, Jerusalem was not just a Holy place it had become an important status symbol which served to enhance their self proclaimed superiority. The Second Significant Sign to the Jews When Allah changed the direction of prayer to Ka’bah, the Jews were very displeased. They perceived it to be an outright rejection of their social status and this brought about an even deeper resentment. The Muslims had not in fact rejected Jerusalem’s religious significance at all, but the Ka’bah, the House which Abraham had built, the first House of Allah on earth, had been the direction chosen by Allah for Muslims to face during prayer. Soon after, the Jews dormant resentment of the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) and the Message given to him by Allah began to surface. False accusations that he pursued a policy of opposition against them were common, for many of the verses in the recently revealed sections of the Cow chapter exposed the concealed corruption of their ancestors and revealed their present day contempt. Their pride prevented them from acknowledging that some of their ancestors had clearly wronged themselves and that they themselves would follow parts of the Torah acceptable to themselves whilst neglecting or rejecting other parts. The Jews contention that they were the chosen ones of Allah was an indisputable fact to their way of thinking despite the fact that they had either defied, killed, or rejected many of their prophets including their last prophet, Jesus, the Messiah, the son of Mary, who warned them that if they did not reform, the covenant once given to them would be taken away from them. Among the Muslims were some whose faith was yet to mature, they also questioned the changing of the Qiblah to the Ka’bah, forgetting that the order was not the decision of the Prophet (salla Allahu alihi wa sallam) but that of Allah, who warned that the Jews and unbelievers would question the redirection and said of them: "The fools among the people will say, 'What has made them turn away from the direction they were facing?' Say: 'The east and the west belong to Allah. He guides whom He will to a Straight Path.'" Koran 2:142 "… We did not change the direction that you were facing except that We might know who followed the Messenger from him who turned on both his heels. Though it was a hardship except for those whom Allah has guided. Allah is Gentle with people, the Most Merciful." Koran 2:143 "Righteousness is not whether you face towards the east or the west. But righteousness is to believe in Allah, and the Last Day, in the angels and the Book, and the Prophets, and to give wealth however cherished, to kinsmen, to the orphans, to the needy, to the destitute traveler, and to the beggars, and to ransom the slave; who establish their prayers, and pay the obligatory charity…" Koran 2:177 The Direction of Prayer 029 Back Cover Subtitles The Communities of Medina The Change in the Direction of Prayer The Second Significant Sign to the Jews