Masjid Shimla Colony

In the early days of Islam the Qiblah (direction to face for prayer) was not the Baitul Haraam (Holy Ka’aba) but instead Muslims prayed towards Jerusalem (Bait-ul-Quds). The Holy Prophet (s.a.w) prayed towards Jerusalem out of obedience to the Will of Allah (s.w.t), however his heart was always inclined towards the Ka’aba. For this reason, when in Mecca, he would always position himself in the prayer so that he was facing both the Holy Ka’aba and Jerusalem.nAfter the migration of the Muslims to Medina (hijra) the Holy Prophet (s.a.w) was not able to continue this practice (Jerusalem being north of Medina and Mecca being south of Medina) and the Holy Prophet (s.a.w), along with the companions, would pray only towards Jerusalem. The positioning of Jerusalem dictated that they would stand in the South-Western part of the Prophet’s Mosque. This lasted until Allah (s.w.t) revealed the verse:nn“Verily, We see thee turning thy face often to heaven; surely, then, will we make thee turn to the Qiblah which thou likest. So turn thy face towards the Sacred Mosque; and wherever you may be, turn your faces towards it. And they to whom the Book has been given know that this is the truth from their Lord; and Allah is not unmindful of what they do.”n(The Holy Qur’an Chapter 2, verse 144)

Good

Good