Editing Screen: Surah al-Baqarah 2 : 142

Editing: al-Baqarah

Description <p><strong>Explanatory Note</strong></p> <p>It is clear from the course of the discussion that ‘<strong>the weak-minded’</strong> is a reference to the Jews of Madinah. They were the ones who stirred up the controversy about the change of qiblah from Jerusalem to Makkah, and questioned its validity and the wisdom behind it.</p> <p>Al-Barā’ ibn `Āzib reported: “<em>When the Prophet first arrived in Madinah, he stayed at his grandparents [or maybe he said at his maternal uncles] of the Anşār. The Prophet used to pray facing Jerusalem for the first sixteen or seventeen months, though he would have preferred to face the Ka`bah. The first prayer he offered [facing the Ka`bah] was `Aşr, when he was joined by a group of people. One of them later passed by another group praying in a mosque and said to them, ‘I bear witness before God that I have just prayed with the Prophet facing the Ka`bah.’ They all turned towards it without interrupting their prayer. The Jews were happy while the Prophet faced Jerusalem in prayer, but when he now turned towards the Ka`bah they were dismayed. It was then that this verse was revealed describing the Jews as weak- minded.</em>” [Related by Mālik, al-Bukhārī, Muslim and al-Tirmidhī]</p> <p>The way the Qur’ān deals with this issue clearly indicates the enormity of the effect that the Jewish campaign was then having on some ordinary Muslims. From the first few words one is made aware that a change of the direction to be faced in prayer is going to be announced. The tone is clearly meant to forestall the doubts and questions that were inevitably going to be raised by troublemakers. But the Qur’ān was ready with the appropriate reply to the argument they would put forward.</p> <p>The Qur’ān goes on to direct the Prophet to the proper course of action in dealing with the questions that would arise and how to put the whole issue in its proper perspective.</p> <p>“<strong>Say: ‘To God belong the east and the west. He guides whomever He wills to a straight path.’</strong>“ Places and directions carry no intrinsic merit in themselves, except in as much as God assigns them such merit, and to whatever direction one turns, God will be there. It is God’s prerogative to guide whomever He wishes to the right path. What He designates as the direction to be faced in prayer is the right and proper choice, and His designation of it is for the good of the community.</p> <p>On such criteria Islam defines the relative merits of places and directions, and specifies the source of those criteria: God Almighty to whom all should turn and submit.</p> <p>The sūrah goes on to outline the central position the Muslim community, or ummah, occupies in the world, and the great role it is destined to play in the history and development of mankind. A prerequisite of that status and role is that the Muslim ummah should have its own exclusive qiblah and distinct identity. It must, first and foremost, owe allegiance to none other than God Almighty, who has commissioned it for that great task.</p> <p>Ibn Kathir writes, <em>“In summary, Allah's Messenger was commanded to face Bayt Al-Maqdis (during the prayer) and he used to offer prayer towards it in Makkah between the two corners (of Ka`bah), so that the Ka`bah would be between him and Bayt Al-Maqdis8. When the Prophet migrated to Al-Madinah, this practice was no longer possible; then Allah commanded him to offer prayer towards Bayt Al-Maqdis, as Ibn Abbas and the majority of the scholars have stated.”</em></p> <ul> <li> <p><span dir="RTL">السُّفَهَاءُ</span> <strong><span dir="RTL">س ف ه</span></strong><strong> – </strong>words derived from these letters occur <a href="http://corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=sfh#(2:142:2)" target="_blank">11 times in the Qur’an</a>.</p> </li> <li> <p><strong>وعن الحسن : كانت الكعبة قبلة كل الأنبياء </strong>[Ibn Ashur - Be the first to translate this....]</p> </li> </ul>

Please read the Guidelines before submitting an entry to the Qur'an Wiki. You can also watch the video 'Guidelines for Submitting Entries'