The ruling on one who prayed some of the prayers facing a direction other than the qiblah
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Question:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good. The woman who sent this letter says: I was traveling, and I prayed the midday and afternoon prayers shortened and combined out of ignorance on my part, in a direction slightly deviating from the qiblah. I had asked about the qiblah, and my father pointed me toward the direction. He pointed with his hand somewhat tilted, and I assumed that this tilt was not significant. It turned out that my father did not intend that direction. What should I do with those prayers? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
If the deviation from the qiblah is slight, it does not harm, and praise be to Allah. However, if the deviation is significant, such that the qiblah is behind the back or to the side, then if he did this while having someone who could guide him to the qiblah, or if there were signs indicating the qiblah, but he was negligent and did not ask or look at the signs, he must repeat the prayer. If he prayed facing a direction completely deviating from the qiblah, while it was possible for him to ask and find out the direction of the qiblah, but he neglected it and was negligent, he must repeat the prayer because he is not excused. Facing the qiblah is a condition for the validity of the prayer. As for if he exerted his utmost effort in seeking the qiblah, and there was no one to inform him of the correct direction, and there were no signs to rely on, such as if he were in a desert, and he exerted his utmost effort and prayed, then his prayer is valid.
His saying, the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:115] "He turns" [Al-Baqarah 2:115]. It is mentioned in the exegesis that this verse was revealed concerning a group of people who were traveling; they exerted themselves to determine the direction of the qiblah and prayed, but it later became clear to them that they had not been facing the direction of the qiblah, so Allah revealed this verse.
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good. The woman who sent this letter says: I was traveling, and I prayed the midday and afternoon prayers shortened and combined out of ignorance on my part, in a direction slightly deviating from the qiblah. I had asked about the qiblah, and my father pointed me toward the direction. He pointed with his hand somewhat tilted, and I assumed that this tilt was not significant. It turned out that my father did not intend that direction. What should I do with those prayers? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
If the deviation from the qiblah is slight, it does not harm, and praise be to Allah. However, if the deviation is significant, such that the qiblah is behind the back or to the side, then if he did this while having someone who could guide him to the qiblah, or if there were signs indicating the qiblah, but he was negligent and did not ask or look at the signs, he must repeat the prayer. If he prayed facing a direction completely deviating from the qiblah, while it was possible for him to ask and find out the direction of the qiblah, but he neglected it and was negligent, he must repeat the prayer because he is not excused. Facing the qiblah is a condition for the validity of the prayer. As for if he exerted his utmost effort in seeking the qiblah, and there was no one to inform him of the correct direction, and there were no signs to rely on, such as if he were in a desert, and he exerted his utmost effort and prayed, then his prayer is valid.
His saying, the Exalted:
And to Allah belongs the east and the west. So wherever
وَلِلَّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ فَأَيْنَمَاthere is the Face of Allah. Indeed, Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing.
فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 4929- حكم من صلى بعض الصلوات إلى غير القبلة - الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.