I did not know the direction of the qiblah, so I prayed, and then I was told that I had not prayed facing the qiblah. Do I have to repeat the prayer?

Question:
He says: I was with one of the brothers, with one of the brothers, and the time for prayer came. I did not know the qiblah, so I prayed. Then this brother came and said, "You did not pray facing the qiblah." I asked if I should repeat the prayer. He said there is no need for that. Is my prayer valid? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
Facing the qiblah in the obligatory prayer is a condition for its validity. Allah the Exalted said: One can determine the qiblah either by seeing the Sacred Ka'bah if one is near it, meaning inside the Sacred Mosque. In that case, one must face the Ka'bah itself, or face the direction in which the Sacred Ka'bah is located if one cannot see it due to distance. If one does not see the Ka'bah because of the distance, he faces the direction in which the Ka'bah is, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): This applies to those in Madinah or facing it, and likewise for the other directions. Every direction faces the direction in which the Ka'bah is located relative to it, even if one does not hit the exact spot, because hitting the exact spot is difficult at a distance. Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) did not . So, one knows the direction of the qiblah either by seeing it or by facing the direction in which the Ka'bah is. One knows the direction in which the Ka'bah is either by the sun, moon, and stars, or by asking people of expertise. If one is in a town, he considers the mihrabs of the mosques that are oriented toward the qiblah. He also asks if he does not see mihrabs or mosques, asking Muslims who know the direction of the qiblah. If one exerts his effort to know the qiblah by looking at the signs indicating it, or asks people of expertise who guide him to it, or sees the mihrabs of the mosques and acts accordingly and prays, then his prayer is valid, because in that case, he has a strong presumption of having faced the qiblah. However, if one prays without asking or searching for evidence of the qiblah, but exerts effort and prays without utilizing the possible means to know the qiblah, and it is later revealed that he did not pray toward the qiblah, then he must repeat the prayer, because he was negligent in this case. He did not search for evidence of the qiblah, did not ask, and did not look at the signs, so he was careless. If he deviated from the direction of the qiblah and prayed toward something else, he must repeat the prayer because he lacked a condition of the prayer. But if one is in the desert and does not know the signs of the qiblah, and has no one to ask about the qiblah, and exerts effort and prays, then his prayer is valid, even if it is revealed after the prayer that he was not facing the qiblah, because Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) said: This is a concession for him. This is evidenced by the fact that a group of people in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed while in the desert. They exerted effort and prayed, but when morning came, they found that they had prayed toward something other than the qiblah. They asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and Allah the Exalted revealed: It is said that this verse was revealed regarding those who were confused about the qiblah, had no evidence, and no one to guide them to it, and they exerted effort according to what they perceived and prayed. Yes.