Al-Baqarah: (144) "We have certainly seen the turning..."
(We have certainly seen the turning of your face toward the heaven) means: We have frequently seen the shifting of your face and the movement of your gaze toward the direction of the sky, longing for the revelation. It used to occur in the heart of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and he would expect his Lord to turn him toward the Ka'bah because the Jews used to say, "Muhammad opposes us and follows our Qiblah," and because it was the Qiblah of his father Abraham (peace be upon him), the older of the two Qiblahs, and more inviting for the Arabs toward faith. The apparent meaning is that he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) did not ask this of his Lord, but was merely waiting; had the request occurred, it would naturally have been mentioned. In this is an indication of his perfect manners (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).
Qatadah, al-Saddi, and others said: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was turning his face in supplication to Allah Almighty to turn him toward the Ka'bah. Based on this, the request did occur from him (upon him be peace and prayer), and it was not explicitly mentioned because the "turning" of the face toward the sky—which is the Qiblah of supplication—refers to it in a general sense. Perhaps this was after he had received permission to supplicate, for the Prophets do not ask Allah Almighty for anything without being permitted to do so, as it is possible that there is no benefit in it, and thus they would not be answered, which would be a trial for their people. This is supported by what is in some reports: that he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) asked Gabriel for permission to supplicate to Allah Almighty, and he informed him that Allah Almighty had granted him permission to supplicate. This is how their words are understood.
What I see is that there is no impediment to his (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) supplication and request for the change for a benefit he was inspired with and a religious interest he perceived. This does not depend on explicit permission or a command, for he who has attained the nearness of the supererogatory acts is beyond such a need, so how much more so for one who attained the station of the nearness of the obligatory acts until he became the master of his people? Whoever knows the rank of the Beloved deems all that proceeds from him as the height of perfection, while observing the ultimate etiquette. As for the reproach of him (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) regarding some things that occurred, it is not due to a deficiency in him nor a breach of etiquette when he acted—far be it from him—but for hidden secrets and divine wisdoms known to those who know them and unknown to those who do not.
There remains the question: Did he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) explicitly supplicate in this incident or not? The apparent view is the latter, based on what we find authentic in the outer meanings of the reports, as they contain nothing but the desire for the change. Al-Bukhari and Muslim recorded in their Sahihs from al-Bara', who said: "We prayed with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) after his arrival in Medina for sixteen months toward Jerusalem, then Allah Almighty knew the desire of His Prophet (upon him be peace and prayer), and the verse 'We have certainly seen...' was revealed." There is nothing in the verse that explicitly points to either of the two opinions. As for the indication, it is suitable for both, as is not hidden.
Some people made "qad" (in "qad nara") here indicate "fewness," assuming that a few instances of turning are more indicative of his perfect etiquette. This was objected to by the fact that one who raises his gaze to the sky once is not said to have "turned his gaze to the sky"; he is only said to have turned it if he did so habitually. Therefore, frequency is understood from the verse inevitably, because "taqallub" (the turning), which is the reflexive form of "taqlib," points to it. Whether the amplification is a meaning of "qad" or an inherent reality are two opinions, the second of which is attributed to Sibawayh. This frequency or fewness here relates to the turning. Some grammarians mentioned that "qad" turns the imperfect tense into the past tense, and from that is what is here, and His saying: "He surely knows what you are upon," "We surely know that your breast is straitened," and so on.
(So We will surely turn you to a Qiblah) means: We will surely enable you to face it. From your saying: "Wallytuhu kadha" (I made him a governor of it) if you make him have authority over it. Or: We will surely make you face its direction rather than the direction of Jerusalem, from "walihi" (he drew near to it) and "wallytuhu" (I drew him near to it). The "Fa" is for the causality of what preceded it to what follows it, and in reality, it is introduced to an omitted oath that the "Lam" indicates. This promise came with an elided oath as an exaggeration of its occurrence, because it confirms the content of the sentence sworn upon. It came before the command out of joy for the soul at the response, then at the fulfillment of the promise, so joy occurs twice. "Nuwalliyannaka" is transitive to two objects: the "Kaf" is the first, and "Qiblatan" is the second.
His saying: (that you will be pleased with) means: you love it and incline toward it for the correct purposes that you have concealed, which have coincided with the will of Allah and His wisdom. It is in the place of an accusative as an adjective for "Qiblah." He made it indefinite because nothing preceded it to necessitate that it be known and thus defined with the "Al." There is nothing in the wording to indicate that he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was seeking a specific Qiblah.
(So turn your face)
The "Fa" is for deriving the command from the promise. The specification of the "face" is because it is the pivot of orientation and its criterion. It is said: The meaning is the entire body, and it was metonymically referred to by the face because it is the most noble of members, and by it, some people are distinguished from others. Or it is in consideration of what preceded. If "Tawliyah" is transitive by itself to two objects, it is used in one of the two aforementioned meanings. If it is transitive to one, its meaning is "turning"—either away from something or toward something—depending on the particle entering the second object. Here, it is in this meaning, so "your face" is the first object. His saying: (toward the Sacred Mosque) means: toward it, as narrated from Ibn Abbas; or toward its direction, as narrated from Ali (may Allah honor his face); or facing it, as narrated from Qatadah. It is an indefinite noun of place, like its exegesis, in the accusative as an adverbial of place, serving the function of "turn your face toward, or toward, or facing the mosque." The command was not made transitive to two objects—such that "shatr" (toward) would be the second object, as some have said—because its sequencing with the "Fa" and its being an fulfillment of the promise that Allah will make the direction of the Qiblah or something close to it as the direction one is commanded to pray toward, fits that he be commanded to turn his face toward it, not that he be made "someone facing it" or "close to it." For the latter, the appropriate phrasing would be "So We will order you to turn..." Also, because it would then necessitate that the obligation is to observe the orientation of the direction, for the Sacred Mosque is the direction of the Qiblah. If the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) were commanded to make himself facing the direction of the mosque or close to it, he would be commanded to face the direction of the direction or be near the direction of the direction. Contrary to when it is taken from "Tawliyah" in the sense of "turning," and "shatr" as an adverbial, for the meaning becomes: "Turn your face toward the Sacred Mosque and its facing, which is the direction of the Qiblah." Thus, he is commanded to align with the direction and strike it. This is what some verifiers have said.
It is said: "Shatr" in the origin refers to what has separated from a thing, then it was used for its side even if it did not separate, so it becomes in the sense of "part of a thing." Then it would be necessary to make it the second object. The issue with this is that even if it does not necessitate the obligation of observing the "direction of the direction," its lack of fitness with the fulfillment of the promise remains. The statement that "shatr" here means "half" is something that is hardly correct.
"Al-Haram" means the forbidden, i.e., fighting is forbidden in it, or it is forbidden for the oppressors to violate it. In mentioning the "Sacred Mosque," which surrounds the Ka'bah, rather than the "Ka'bah" itself—even though it is the Qiblah as indicated by the authentic Hadiths—is an indication that it suffices for the distant person to align with the direction of the Qiblah even if he does not strike its exact point. This benefit is not obtained from the word "shatr," as a group has said, because if it were said: "Turn your face toward the Ka'bah," the meaning would be "make the turning of the face in a place that is aligned and parallel to the Ka'bah." This is the school of Abu Hanifah (may Allah be pleased with him) and Ahmad, and the view of most of the Khorasani Shafi'is, and the Proof of Islam (al-Ghazali) favored it in the Ihya'. However, they said: It is necessary for the one facing the direction to intend the exact point which is in that direction so that the Qiblah is the exact Ka'bah. The Iraqis and al-Qaffal among them said: It is mandatory to strike the exact point. Imam Malik said: The Ka'bah is the Qiblah of the people of the Mosque, and the Mosque is the Qiblah of Mecca, and it is the Qiblah of the Sacred Precinct, and it is the Qiblah of the world. In the Hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) in a marfu' narration, there is what points to this. This disagreement concerns those who are not present [at the scene]; as for those who are, it is mandatory to strike the exact point by consensus.
The Exalted did not qualify the "turning" during prayer because the objective was nothing other than that, so it was sufficient without mentioning it. It is said: It is because the verse was revealed while he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was in prayer, so his being engaged in it sufficed from mentioning it. This speaker argued based on what the Judge mentioned, following others, that he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) arrived in Medina and prayed toward Jerusalem for sixteen months, then he was turned toward the Ka'bah in Rajab after noon, two months before the battle of Badr. He had prayed with his companions in the Mosque of Banu Salimah two units of the noon prayer, then he turned during the prayer and faced the spout, and the men and women swapped their rows, so the mosque was named the "Mosque of the Two Qiblahs." This—as Imam al-Suyuti said—is a distortion of the Hadith, for the story of Banu Salimah did not involve the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) as the Imam, nor was he the one who turned during the prayer. Al-Nasa'i recorded from Abu Sa'id bin al-Mu'alla who said: "We used to go to the mosque early, and one day we passed by while the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was sitting on the pulpit. I said, 'A matter has occurred,' so I sat down. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) recited [the verse], 'We have certainly seen the turning of your face toward the heaven...' So I said to my companion, 'Come, let us bow two units before the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) comes down, so we may be the first to pray.' We prayed them, then the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) came down and led the people in the noon prayer that day." Abu Dawud narrated from Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and his companions were praying toward Jerusalem, then when this verse was revealed, a man passed by Banu Salimah and called out to them while they were bowing in the dawn prayer toward Jerusalem, "Lo! The Qiblah has been turned toward the Ka'bah." So they leaned as they were, bowing, toward the Ka'bah. Therefore, what was mentioned is contradictory to the authentic narrations established by the experts of this field, so it is not to be relied upon. Ubayy read, "Tila' al-Masjid al-Haram," and it supports the first view regarding "shatr," as is not hidden.
(And wherever you are, turn your faces toward it) is a conjunction to "Turn your face" and is from the completion of the fulfillment of the promise. The "Fa" is the response to the condition, because "Haythu" (wherever) when joined with "Ma" (which prevents annexation) becomes a conditional particle. Al-Farra' does not require that for it. "Kana" is perfect, meaning: in whatever place you are found. The origin of "Wallu" is "Waliywu"; the dammah on the Ya' was deemed heavy, so it was elided. Two quiescent letters then met, so the first was elided, and the letter before the Ya' was given a dammah for suitability; its weight is "Fa'u." This is an explicit statement of the universality of the ruling derived from the previous [command] out of concern for it, since the address directed to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is general in its ruling unless its specialization to him (upon him be peace) is apparent. The benefit of generalizing the locations, according to what some have gone toward, is to repel the illusion that this Qiblah is specific to the people of Medina. It is said: Since the turning away from the Ka'bah was to win the hearts of the Jews, and it was a site of suspicion that he would not face it in their presence, He pointed to the generalization of the turning in all places. Or it is said: It was made clear that turning toward the direction of the Ka'bah is an obligation even with the presence of Jerusalem and for its people too, so that it would not be thought that the presence of Jerusalem prevents turning toward the direction of the Ka'bah while it is absent. So understand. Abdullah [bin Mas'ud] read, "Fawallu wujuhakum qibalahu."
(And indeed, those who have been given the Book)—i.e., from the Jews and Christians—(know that it is the truth from their Lord)—i.e., the changing, or the orientation understood from the "turning"—and nothing else. This is due to their knowledge that Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) does not order falsehood, as he is the Prophet foretold in their books, and their verification that he does not exceed any law by moving from its Qiblah to the Qiblah of another law. As for the sharing of this Qiblah by the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and Abraham (peace be upon him), it is due to their sharing in the law, as indicated by His saying: "Rather, the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth." And their standing on what their books contained: that he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would pray toward the two Qiblahs. The sentence is a conjunction to "We have certainly seen," with the connection being that the previous one was driven to explain the origin of the changing, while this one is to explain its validity. It is said: Or it is a parenthetical sentence to confirm the matter of the Qiblah.
(And Allah is not unaware of what they do) is a parenthetical statement between the two discourses, brought for the promise and the threat to the two parties among the People of the Book who fall under the previous general term, alluded to in what will come shortly, if Allah Almighty wills, and they are those who concealed and those who did not. Ibn 'Amir, Hamzah, and al-Kisa'i read "ta'malun" (you do) with a Ta'; so it is a promise to the believers. It is said: On the reading of the direct address, it is a promise to them, and on the reading of the third person, it is a threat to the People of the Book absolutely. It is said: The pronoun, on both readings, is for all people, so it is a promise and a threat to the two groups of believers and disbelievers.
