Is it obligatory to face the qiblah for the prostration of recitation?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Facing the qiblah depends on the view that it is. Did you prostrate when you reached it or not? He did not mention it, and what appears is that he faces the qiblah, and that it is obligatory for him to perform wudu. If he is not in a state of wudu, he does not prostrate. Yes. It was a day in a private hall. Yes.

The questioner : This is a second opinion for you, namely facing the qiblah and the obligation of wudu?

The Shaykh : This is the correct one. The Shaykh al-Islam does not hold this view; he holds that it is a prostration of supplication.

The questioner : And the prostration of Ibn 'Umar.

The Shaykh : And that it is a recommended practice to face the qiblah, but it is not obligatory. We hold that as long as it is a prostration to Allah the Exalted, it should not be done facing other than the qiblah, nor while in a state of impurity, unlike the prostration of gratitude, which comes suddenly without prior preparation.