Tafsir Ibn Abbas: Al-Baqara, Ayah 115
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Tafsir
The following was revealed either when the Jews criticised the change of the direction of prayer qibla or concerning the supererogatory prayers on animal-back during journeys which one may pray in any direction To God belong the East and the West that is the entire earth because these two directions represent both sides of it the earth; whithersoever you turn your faces in prayer by His command there is the Face of God the direction of prayer with which He is pleased. Lo! God is Embracing His bounty embracing all things Knowing how to manage His creation.
Related Hadiths
"The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would perform voluntary Salat upon his mount facing whichever direction he was headed, while he was coming from Makkah to Al-Madinah." Then Ibn 'Umar recited: To Allah belo...
" So whether you turn thither is Allah's face" (ii. 115).
" Whether you turn thither is Allah's face," and it was revealed in this context.
Allah's Messenger said: "What is between the east and the west is Qiblah."
Allah's Messenger said: "What is between the east and the west is Qiblah."
“We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on a journey, and the sky was overcast so it was difficult for us to determine the Qiblah. So we performed prayer, and we marked the location.* Later, when the...
"We were with the Prophet on a journey on a very dark night and we did not know the direction of the Qiblah. So each man among us prayed in his own direction. In the morning when we mentioned that to ...
“The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘What is between the east and the west is the Qiblah (prayer direction).’”* *This refers to the Qiblah for the the inhabitants of Al-Madinah. (Makkah is to the exact...
from his father who said: "We were with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on a journey on a very dark night and we did not know where the Qiblah was. So each man among us prayed in his own direction. In the ...
Verily, the hearts of all the sons of Adam are between the two fingers out of the fingers of the Compassionate Lord as one heart. He turns that to any (direction) He likes. Then Allahs Messenger (ﷺ) s...
Ibn Abbas Commentary
Then Allah mentioned the direction of prayer to Him, saying (Unto Allah belong the East and the West) as a direction of prayer for him who does not know the correct direction of prayer, (and whithersoever ye turn) your faces in prayer after ascertaining the direction, (there is Allah's Countenance) that prayer is performed in Allah's pleasure. This verse was revealed about a group of Companions of the Prophet (pbuh) who prayed whilst travelling in the wrong direction after doing their best to determine the correct direction. It is also said that saying (Unto Allah belong the East and the West) means: the people of the East and the people of the West have one direction of prayer which is the Sacred Precinct, and therefore (there is Allah's Countenance) means: that is the direction of prayer to Allah, (Lo! Allah is All-Embracing) regarding the direction of prayer, (All- Knowing) of their intentions.