Is the prayer immediately requiring reperformance necessary if a Mujtahid or Muqallid discovers after the fact that they prayed in a direction other than the Ka'bah with certainty?
Chapter on Facing the Qiblah
Al-Mughni
Book of Prayer
Primary text
Reperformance of the prayer is not required if a Mujtahid who prayed based on Ijtihad, or a Muqallid who prayed based on their imitation, later discovers with certainty that they did not face the direction of the Ka'bah. This is the position held by Malik and Abu Hanifa, and one of the two opinions of Al-Shafi'i. The evidence supporting this includes the narration from 'Amir ibn Rabi'ah, where the companions prayed in the dark based on their immediate orientation, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not command them to repeat after the error was discovered upon morning, supported by the revelation of Quran 2:115. Furthermore, the tradition from Jabir, where the companions differed on the Qibla during cloudy weather and the Prophet (peace be upon him) stated, 'Your prayer has sufficed you,' indicates no reperformance is due. The act of changing the Qibla during the Fajr prayer, where the Companions immediately conformed without repeating the preceding part, serves as evidence that previous prayer suffices when facing uncertainty or impossibility regarding a condition.
Supporting text
Al-Shafi'i's other opinion holds that reperformance is obligatory because the error relates to a necessary condition for prayer. Therefore, it necessitates repetition, similar to discovering the prayer was performed before the time, without ritual purity, or without proper covering.