Surah 1-2 - YasSarNal QuR'aN

Al-Baqarah (The Cow) | CHANGE OF DIRECTION[facing the Ka`bah] was `Aşr, when he was joined by a group of people. One of themlater passed by another group praying in a mosque and said to them, ‘I bear witnessbefore God that I have just prayed with the Prophet facing the Ka`bah.’ They allturned towards it without interrupting their prayer. The Jews were happy while theProphet faced Jerusalem in prayer, but when he now turned towards the Ka`bah theywere dismayed. It was then that this verse was revealed describing the Jews as weakminded.”[Related by Mālik, al-Bukhārī, Muslim and al-Tirmidhī]The way the Qur’ān deals with this issue clearly indicates the enormity of theeffect that the Jewish campaign was then having on some ordinary Muslims. Fromthe first few words one is made aware that a change of the direction to be faced inprayer is going to be announced. The tone is clearly meant to forestall the doubts andquestions that were inevitably going to be raised by troublemakers. But the Qur’ānwas ready with the appropriate reply to the argument they would put forward.The Qur’ān goes on to direct the Prophet to the proper course of action in dealingwith the questions that would arise and how to put the whole issue in its properperspective.“Say: ‘To God belong the east and the west. He guides whomever He wills to a straightpath.’“ (Verse 142) Places and directions carry no intrinsic merit in themselves, exceptinasmuch as God assigns them such merit, and to whatever direction one turns, Godwill be there. It is God’s prerogative to guide whomever He wishes to the right path.What He designates as the direction to be faced in prayer is the right and properchoice, and His designation of it is for the good of the community.On such criteria Islam defines the relative merits of places and directions, andspecifies the source of those criteria: God Almighty to whom all should turn andsubmit.The sūrah goes on to outline the central position the Muslim community, orummah, occupies in the world, and the great role it is destined to play in the historyand development of mankind. A prerequisite of that status and role is that theMuslim ummah should have its own exclusive qiblah and distinct identity. It must,first and foremost, owe allegiance to none other than God Almighty, who hascommissioned it for that great task.“We have made you the community of the middle way, so that you may stand witnessagainst the rest of mankind, and the Messenger shall be a witness against you.”(Verse 143)The Arabic term wasaţ, used in this verse to describe the global Muslimcommunity, is a vivid epithet which evokes a much wider range of meaning than is148