Facing the Qiblah in the Prostration of Recitation
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The questioner:
If we say that the recitation is a prayer, then facing the books is obligatory; if we say it is not a prayer, then it is not obligatory.
The Shaykh:
Yes, he reads and prostrates in any direction; that is what you do. However, based on the general rule, they say that every act of worship is recommended to be directed toward the qiblah, so there is no harm in doing so.
The questioner:
Abu Yusuf. You mentioned—may Allah lie to you—that the prostration of recitation is something about which you know more than what is prescribed for prayer. What is the chapter on the block in the earth’s guidance?
The Shaykh:
We have mentioned that there is no evidence requiring facing the qiblah in the prostration of recitation. In fact, if he prostrates in any direction, he is facing that direction, and there is no harm in that, because no evidence has come specifying that the prostration of recitation must be directed toward the qiblah, and because it is not a prayer. However, there is no doubt that prostrating while facing the qiblah is better. But we do not deny the validity of his prostration of recitation if he prostrates in a direction other than the qiblah; we do not deny it.
If we say that the recitation is a prayer, then facing the books is obligatory; if we say it is not a prayer, then it is not obligatory.
The Shaykh:
Yes, he reads and prostrates in any direction; that is what you do. However, based on the general rule, they say that every act of worship is recommended to be directed toward the qiblah, so there is no harm in doing so.
The questioner:
Abu Yusuf. You mentioned—may Allah lie to you—that the prostration of recitation is something about which you know more than what is prescribed for prayer. What is the chapter on the block in the earth’s guidance?
The Shaykh:
We have mentioned that there is no evidence requiring facing the qiblah in the prostration of recitation. In fact, if he prostrates in any direction, he is facing that direction, and there is no harm in that, because no evidence has come specifying that the prostration of recitation must be directed toward the qiblah, and because it is not a prayer. However, there is no doubt that prostrating while facing the qiblah is better. But we do not deny the validity of his prostration of recitation if he prostrates in a direction other than the qiblah; we do not deny it.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، تتمة باب سجود السهو وغيره — islamhouse.com (48:35)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.