The ruling on turning around in prayer

Question:
May Allah reward you with good. The questioner asks: Does turning around in prayer invalidate the prayer? And what is the extent of the turning?

Answer:
Turning the body invalidates the prayer if it is not out of dire necessity. If one turns away from the qiblah in prayer, and it is not out of dire necessity, then the prayer is invalid. This applies to the obligatory prayer. As for the voluntary prayer, there is no harm in praying if one is walking on the road at night; he may pray in the direction he is facing, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray the voluntary prayer while traveling on his mount, wherever it faced. As for the obligatory prayer, one must face the qiblah, because this is among the conditions for the validity of the prayer. If he turns away from it with his body, his prayer is invalid, unless this is out of dire necessity. As for turning the head only, it is disliked. It is a theft that Satan steals from a person’s prayer, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned. It is disliked and does not invalidate the prayer.