Qibla

direction of prayer...
I am confused...
are muslims meant to face east when they pray?

Doesn't common sense dictate that it would depend on where you live, which direction you face when you pray... the direction of the Ka'aba?

Shukran and salaam for guidance,
Caringheart

islamispeace wrote: Caringheart wrote: direction of prayer... I am confused... are muslims meant to face east when they pray? Doesn't common sense dictate that it would depend on where you live, which direction you face when you pray... the direction of the Ka'aba? Shukran and salaam for guidance, Caringheart Muslims face the direction of Mecca, which would of course depend on where you live.  Someone living in Iraq would not face east.  Some living in Egypt would.

Greetings islamispeace,

Thank you for your reply.

Am I correct though that I have heard muslims say they should pray toward the east?  Or is this a misconception?

Or maybe I am remembering from the qur'an because for Muhammad to pray to the Ka'aba was to pray to the east?

asalaam,
CH

Edit:
Ok, I've been doing some researching and now have more questions....

I see that Mecca was not east of Medina, but rather south from Medina(Yathrib).

and I have found this in the qur'an which speaks of qibla:

2:142 The foolish of the people will say: What hath turned them from the qiblah which they formerly observed ? Say: Unto Allah belong the East and the West. He guideth whom He will unto a straight path.

2:143 Thus We have appointed you a middle nation, that ye may be witnesses against mankind, and that the messenger may be a witness against you. And We appointed the qiblah which ye formerly observed only that We might know him who followeth the messenger, from him who turneth on his heels. In truth it was a hard (test) save for those whom Allah guided. But it was not Allah's purpose that your faith should be in vain, for Allah is Full of Pity, Merciful toward mankind.

2:144 We have seen the turning of thy face to heaven (for guidance, O Muhammad). And now verily We shall make thee turn (in prayer) toward a qiblah which is dear to thee. So turn thy face toward the Inviolable Place of Worship, and ye (O Muslims), wheresoever ye may be, turn your faces (when ye pray) toward it. Lo! Those who have received the Scripture know that (this revelation) is the Truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do.

2:149 And whencesoever thou comest forth (for prayer, O Muhammad) turn thy face toward the Inviolable Place of Worship. Lo! it is the Truth from thy Lord. Allah is not unaware of what ye do.


So... 'turn thy face toward the inviolable place of worship'... but no mention of the Ka'aba?

Why the mention of the east and west?

in 2:144 it just seems to me that Muhammad decided that what he originally proclaimed was not working so he decided to make a change - keeping the Ka'aba, since it was the place accustomed to by the people, and the place that attracted people on pilgrimage, which was important to them for trade.

as far as 'those who have received the Scripture know'... the Scripture which I know is clear that the place of God is in Jerusalem and so that would be the 'inviolable place of worship'... the place where the Ark of God once rested.
If this is not true then why do muslims fight with the Jews over the control of Jerusalem, and why did they build the Dome of the Rock there?

from the prophecy, the warning given to Ezekiel:

¹⁵ Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.

¹⁶ And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

So it was an abomination to the Lord that the Jews would be turning their backs to the temple in Jerusalem and praying to the sun in the east.
Jerusalem is the inviolable place of worship.


Edited by Caringheart - 20 February 2015 at 10:06pm

You confuse yourself with your own Christian bias.  We can see that by how you clearly want to establish that the "inviolable place of worship" is in Jerusalem and not in Mecca.  But those who have actually read the Quran and are not blinded by their own preconceived ideas know that the "inviolable place of worship" is the Kaaba in Mecca.  The meaning of the phrase refers to the prohibition of fighting and hunting within the confines of Mecca, as made clear by the following verse:

"O ye who believe! Kill not game while in the sacred precincts or in pilgrim garb. If any of you doth so intentionally, the compensation is an offering, brought to the Ka'ba, of a domestic animal equivalent to the one he killed, as adjudged by two just men among you; or by way of atonement, the feeding of the indigent; or its equivalent in fasts: that he may taste of the penalty of his deed. Allah forgives what is past: for repetition Allah will exact from him the penalty. For Allah is Exalted, and Lord of Retribution." (Surah Al-Maeda, 5:3).

Your reference to Ezekiel is laughable because Muslims do not "pray to the sun in the east".  In fact, Muslims are forbidden to pray when the sun is rising and when it is setting, so how can that "prophecy" be applied to Islam?  Once again, we see your deception and ignorance at work. 

islamispeace wrote: You confuse yourself with your own Christian bias.  We can see that by how you clearly want to establish that the "inviolable place of worship" is in Jerusalem and not in Mecca.  But those who have actually read the Quran and are not blinded by their own preconceived ideas know that the "inviolable place of worship" is the Kaaba in Mecca.  The meaning of the phrase refers to the prohibition of fighting and hunting within the confines of Mecca, as made clear by the following verse: "O ye who believe! Kill not game while in the sacred precincts or in pilgrim garb. If any of you doth so intentionally, the compensation is an offering, brought to the Ka'ba, of a domestic animal equivalent to the one he killed, as adjudged by two just men among you; or by way of atonement, the feeding of the indigent; or its equivalent in fasts: that he may taste of the penalty of his deed. Allah forgives what is past: for repetition Allah will exact from him the penalty. For Allah is Exalted, and Lord of Retribution." (Surah Al-Maeda, 5:3). Your reference to Ezekiel is laughable because Muslims do not "pray to the sun in the east".  In fact, Muslims are forbidden to pray when the sun is rising and when it is setting, so how can that "prophecy" be applied to Islam?  Once again, we see your deception and ignorance at work.

Greetings islamispeace,

I wasn't saying that the prophesy of Ezekiel was applicable to islam, per se.  I was sharing it though, because the Lord was clear, in letting Ezekiel know to tell the people, that it is an offense to Him when they do not pray towards the temple in Jerusalem.

You didn't answer my other questions though;
Am I correct that I have heard muslims say they should pray toward the east?  Or is this a misconception?

The qur'an is not really clear on this 'place of inviolable worship'... only to mention that it has been changed... but it does not say from what or to where... those extrapolations come, I can only presume, from the further teachings of Muhammad recorded in the hadith.

asalaam,
CH