Al-Qibla Verse: Difference between revisions

'''Al-Qibla Verse''' (Arabic: {{ia|آیَة القِبلَة}}) is the verse number 144 of [[Sura al-Baqara]] in the [[Qur'an]] which commands Muslims to [[Qibla Changing|change their Qibla]] from [[Jerusalem]] to [[Masjid al-Haram]]. After the [[Hijra|migration]] of Muslims to [[Medina]], Jewish residents of the city took the direction of Muslims towards Jerusalem to be evidence that [[Islam]] was not an authentic religion. This led the [[Prophet Muhammad (s)]] to wish that the [[Ka'ba]] were the [[Qibla]] for Muslims.

Verses 142, 143, and 150 of Sura al-Baqara have also been referred to as verses of Qibla. Some exegetes of the Qur'an take verses 142 through 144 of Sura al-Baqara to be Verses of the Qibla.

|{{center|We certainly see you turning your face about in the sky. We will surely turn you to a Qibla of your liking: so turn your face towards al-Masjid al-Haram, and wherever you may be, turn your faces towards it! Indeed those who were given the Book surely know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not oblivious of what they do. }}

This verse, which involves the ruling of changing the Qibla, is known as the Verse of Qibla.<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 81, p. 33; Ṭabāṭabāyī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 1, p. 325.</ref> Verses 142,<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 1, p. 414; Ṭūsī, ''al-Tibyān'', vol. 2, p. 3-4.</ref> 143,<ref>Fakhr al-Rāzī, ''al-Tafsīr al-kabīr'', vol. 4, p. 107.</ref> and 150 of Sura al-Baqara<ref>Ṭabāṭabāyī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 1, p. 329.</ref> have also been referred to as verses of Qibla. Some exegetes of the Qur'an take verses 142-144 of Sura al-Baqara to be verses of Qibla.<ref>Ṭanṭāwī, ''Tafsīr al-wasīṭ'', vol. 1, p. 294.</ref>

According to sources of exegesis, the Verse of Qibla was revealed in order to change the Qibla of Muslims from Jerusalem to the [[Ka'ba]]. After the migration of Muslims to Medina, Jewish residents of the city took the direction of Muslims towards Jerusalem to be evidence that Islam was not an authentic religion. They asked: "if [[Muhammad (s)]] has brought a new religion, so why does he say [[prayers]] towards our Qibla?"<ref>Ibn Kathīr, ''Tafsīr al-Qurʾān'', vol. 1, p. 198; Ṭabarī, ''Jāmiʿ al-bayān'', vol. 2, p. 29.</ref> According to some hadiths, this and other factors led the Prophet (s) to wish that the Ka'ba were the Qibla for Muslims, but he never expressed his wish to God.<ref>Abū l-Futūḥ al-Rāzī, ''Rawḍ al-Jinān'', vol. 2, p. 208; Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 1, p. 414; Ṭabāṭabāyī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 1, p. 490.</ref> The verse points to the Prophet’s (s) expectation for the change of Qibla.<ref>See: Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 81, p. 33; Ṭabarī, ''Jāmiʿ al-bayān'', vol. 2, p. 28; Ṭabāṭabāyī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 1, p. 329.</ref>

* One is that the Prophet (s) was already promised about the change of Qibla, and thus, he was turning his face towards the sky and waiting for the descend of [[Jabra'il]] to bring the ruling of Qibla.  

There is no consensus among exegetes of the Qur'an with regard to the time when the Verse of Qibla was revealed. There is a spectrum of views from 6<ref>Ṭabarī, ''Jāmiʿ al-bayān'', vol. 2, p. 28; Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 1, p. 414.</ref> to 19 months<ref>Ṭabāṭabāyī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 1, p. 333.</ref> after the migration. Some exegetes have appealed to the date of the change of Qibla, that is, [[Rajab]] of 2 (January 624), and take the most accurate view to be 17 months after the migration.<ref>Ṭabāṭabāyī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 1, p. 331.</ref> There is also a disagreement about whether the Verse of Qibla was revealed in the middle of the [[morning prayer]] or [[noon prayer]] or [[afternoon prayer]].<ref>Ibn Saʿd, ''al-Ṭabaqāt al-kubrā'', vol. 1, p. 186-187.</ref>