The Ruling on Deviating from the Qiblah in Prayer

Question:
It is mentioned in the hadith: And the scholars say that if a person’s chest deviates from the qiblah, his prayer is invalid. What is the correct ruling in this matter?

Answer:
Before this, there is a hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the people of Madinah and those who are in their direction. So, the one who can see the Ka'bah— the one who can see the Ka'bah— it is obligatory for him to face it directly. As for the one who does not see it, whether he is far from it or at a distance, or it is hidden from him, he prays toward the direction in which the Ka'bah is located. Even if he deviates slightly, it does not harm him. What invalidates the prayer is deviating significantly, such as if the qiblah is to his side or if he turns his back to it.
This is what invalidates the prayer, except if he is excused, such as if he is in the desert, he exerted his effort, and prayed based on his ijtihad, and then it became clear to him that he did not face the direction of the qiblah. His prayer is valid; his prayer is valid because he exerted his effort to the best of his ability and prayed, and he is not required to do more than that. However, if he is able to know the qiblah, because he has someone who knows the qiblah, or he has mosques with mihrabs, or he can ask people, then he does not exert his effort. It is not an excuse for him to exert his effort and guess. He must know the direction of the qiblah because he is capable of doing so. If he prays and deviates from the qiblah while being capable of knowing it, he must repeat the prayer, except for voluntary prayers while traveling. For voluntary prayers while traveling, if a person is moving along the road and wants to pray the night prayer or perform voluntary prayers, he may pray in whatever direction he faces. As for the obligatory prayer, it must be toward the qiblah, whether traveling or resident. Yes.