The ruling on one who prays in the wrong direction by mistake while traveling

The questioner:
All right, let’s take a call from Abu Faisal from Ras Tanura. Go ahead, Abu Faisal. Peace be upon you. And upon you, peace. Shaykh, I was traveling and I prayed the midday and afternoon prayers facing the qiblah, but it was wrong, and I didn’t realize it until after I had finished the prayer. They told me the qiblah was wrong, so what is the ruling?

The Shaykh:
If you did not ask those around you or look at the signs of the qiblah, then you must repeat the prayer. But if you were…

The questioner:
We finished the prayer because I didn’t know the direction. The important thing is…

The Shaykh:
The important thing, my brother, is that if you were negligent and did not ask those around you or look at the signs of the qiblah, then you must repeat the prayer. But if you did your best and exercised the ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) that you were able to, and you prayed this way in the open desert, where there was no one with you, and you did your best and prayed, and then it became clear to you that you were wrong after you had finished the prayer, then your prayer is valid. Yes.

The questioner:
May Allah reward you with good.

The presenter:
Thank you, my brother, the caller.