The ruling on praying in a direction other than the qiblah after making an effort to determine it
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
May Allah reward you for your questions. He says: My colleague and I prayed in a direction other than the qiblah when we were on a land journey in the desert, three years ago. Now doubt is troubling me, Honorable Shaykh, because we have confirmed that we were facing a direction other than the qiblah. Do we have to repeat these prayers, even though we stayed for fifteen days?
Answer:
If you made an effort to determine the qiblah, did your utmost, and prayed your prayers, then your prayers are valid. This is based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:115] [Al-Baqarah 2:115-116] This was revealed regarding a group of people who were traveling and made an effort to determine the qiblah, so they prayed. When morning came, they found that they had prayed in a direction other than the qiblah, so they asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and Allah revealed this verse. So if you made an effort to determine the qiblah and you prayed, your prayer is valid. However, if you were negligent and did not make the effort to determine the qiblah—meaning, facing it is a condition for the validity of the prayers—if you were lax in determining the qiblah, knowing its evidence, and asking those around you...
May Allah reward you for your questions. He says: My colleague and I prayed in a direction other than the qiblah when we were on a land journey in the desert, three years ago. Now doubt is troubling me, Honorable Shaykh, because we have confirmed that we were facing a direction other than the qiblah. Do we have to repeat these prayers, even though we stayed for fifteen days?
Answer:
If you made an effort to determine the qiblah, did your utmost, and prayed your prayers, then your prayers are valid. This is based on the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And to Allah belongs the east and the west. So wherever you [might] turn, there is the Face of Allah
وَلِلَّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ(115) And to Allah belongs the east and the west. So wherever you [might] turn, there is the Face of Allah. Indeed, Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing. (116) They say, "Allah has taken a son." Exalted is He! Rather, to Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth. All are devoutly obedient to Him,
وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ وَقَالُوا
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/242 — archive.org (15:20)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.