Qiblah القبلة

Supporting the Aforementioned by that the Religion is Easy 1

July 16th, 2005

There is no doubt in that the Religion of Allah is easy. Allah, the Exalted, said in Suratul-Baqarah, ‘Ayah 185:

)يُرِيدُ اللهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلاَ يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ(

Which means: {Allah wants every facility for you and does not want to put you to hardships.}

Al-Bukhariyy, al-Bayhaqiyy, and others related that the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, said: “This Religion is easy“.

To endeavor to determine al-Qiblah is a must in other than the maharib of the Prophet and the Companions, and the like, just as we have established earlier by the saying and statements of the scholars. An-Nawawiyy related about ash-Shafi^iyy that a seeing person is not entitled to follow somebody else in the direction of al-Qiblah, because he can endeavor to determine the direction himself. He said: “If he prays, i.e., without endeavoring to determine the direction, he has to repeat his prayer.”

Ibn ^Abidin, who is among the famous Hanafiyy scholars said: “If he commenced (his prayers) without detecting (al-Qiblah), his prayer is not valid.”

Abul-Qasim al-Kharqiyy in his Mukhtasar, which is among the most famous books of the Hanbaliyy school, said: “…He is not to pray in other than these two prayers , neither the obligatory nor the optional prayer, except while directing himself to al-Ka^bah. If he can see it, then by facing it; and if he was away from it, then by endeavoring to determine the correct direction.” Previously, we mentioned the saying of Ibn Mayyarah al-Malikiyy Regarding this matter.

It was mentioned previously that endeavoring to determine the direction is based on observing the sun, moon, winds, stars, and the like. Also we have established earlier that Polaris is among the strongest of these signs because of its fixed position throughout the year. The winds change and the sun and moon run a course. Moreover, the sun runs a course that we do not know. Al-Bukhariyy reported that every day the sun reaches a place open to al-^Arsh where it performs a suitable sujud.

Endeavoring to determine al-Qiblah by the layman must be an easy matter free of hardships. It is sufficient for him to look at the direction of sunrise to know the four directions and hence to determine his position from Makkah. Also he would look at Polaris or star Suhayl to know his proximity of farness from Makkah northward or southward. This, as you can see, does not require complex calculations nor a dive into an ocean of geometry and mathematics to determine the direction of al-Qiblah. Moreover, this methodology does not show except that the direction of al-Qiblah in North America is southeast. This is in accordance with the facility for the Religion and its easiness.

Entry Filed under: Supporting the Aforementioned 1