Qiblah القبلة

Overview

The Qiblah (القِبلَة) is the direction Muslims face in salah: toward the Kaaba in Masjid al-Haram at Mecca. In 2 AH the qiblah was changed from Jerusalem to Mecca by direct command in the Quran.

Etymology

The root ق-ب-ل means "to face" or "to turn toward." Qiblah is the noun of direction — that which one faces.

Quranic references

Surah Al-Baqarah 2:144 — "We have certainly seen the turning of your face toward the heaven, and We will surely turn you to a qiblah with which you will be pleased. So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you are, turn your faces toward it."

فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ

Surah Al-Baqarah 2:143 — "And We did not make the qiblah which you used to face except that We might make evident who would follow the Messenger."

Surah Al-Baqarah 2:150 — "And from wherever you go out, turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram."

Surah Al-Baqarah 2:115 — "And to Allah belongs the east and the west. So wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah."

Hadith and tradition

Anas ibn Malik reported: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was praying toward Bayt al-Maqdis when the verse was revealed: 'We have certainly seen the turning of your face toward the heaven…' A man from Banu Salima was passing by people of a mosque while they were bowing in the dawn prayer and they had completed one cycle. He called out: 'The qiblah has been changed!' So they turned, while still in prayer, toward the Kaaba." — Sahih Muslim 527

The Prophet ﷺ said: "What is between the east and the west is qiblah." — Jami at-Tirmidhi 342, graded Hasan Sahih by al-Albani

Significance

The change of qiblah marked the maturing of the Muslim community after the Hijra and the recovery of the orientation established by Ibrahim and Adam when the Kaaba was first raised. Ibn Kathir notes that the test in Surah Al-Baqarah 2:143 separated those whose iman rested in obedience from those who clung to habit. The qiblah unifies Muslims globally: in every salah from any latitude, hearts and faces converge on a single point — a daily rehearsal of tawhid. It also orients hajj and the burial of the dead.

See also

• Kaaba
• Masjid al-Haram
• Salah
• Hijra

References

1. Ibn Kathir, Tafsir al-Quran al-Azim, on Surah Al-Baqarah 2:142-150.
2. al-Qurtubi, al-Jami li-Ahkam al-Quran, on the change of qiblah.
3. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Fath al-Bari, commentary on the hadith of Anas in Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Salah.
4. al-Tabari, Jami al-Bayan, on Surah Al-Baqarah 2:144.