What is the meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "So wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah"?
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The questioner : May Allah, the Exalted and Sublime, make you a supporter of the Sunnah and a suppressor of religious innovation.
The Shaykh : Amen.
The questioner : In the abridged version of *Al-Sawa'iq al-Mursalah* by Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him), when he came to the saying of Allah the Glorious:[Al-Baqarah 2:115], he mentioned that an interpretation was reported from some of the Salaf, and al-Shafi'i was among them, interpreting the meaning of His saying: as: the qiblah of Allah. Then he refuted that, preferring it from several angles, and said among them: Why did you take this as the qiblah of Allah, while in all the texts where the Face of Allah is mentioned, it is the attribution of an attribute to the one described? So he preferred, from several angles as I said, the statement that its interpretation means the complete and absolute encompassing of Allah. As you know, the Asha'irah interpret the issue of supplication and raising the hands to the sky by saying: This is the qiblah of supplication. So the Salaf refuted that and said: There is only one qiblah for prayer and for supplication. Do the Asha'irah have the right to say: That the statement regarding the qiblah of Allah in this interpretation also allows for multiple qiblahs for Allah the Exalted? I hope you will remove such a doubt, may you be rewarded, and may Allah reward you with good?
The Shaykh : First: I hope that the brothers present do not raise such a long, complex question. Most of the brothers now probably do not understand this at all, and it has not even occurred to them. So such a thing should be between me and the questioner.
But the noble verse has two statements from the Salaf: The first statement is that the meaning is: "So wherever you turn, there is the direction of Allah," meaning: its qiblah. In the sense that if the qiblah is unclear to you, and you pray while in the desert, praying toward a direction you think is the qiblah, and then it turns out it is not the qiblah, your prayer is valid, because this verse was mentioned as an introduction to the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:142]. So this verse is like His saying in: [Al-Baqarah 2:115], meaning: If you face the Ka'bah, you are facing the Face of Allah, and if you face Bayt al-Maqdis as the Jews criticized you for, you are facing the Face of Allah: [Al-Baqarah 2:142]. And this is a statement that has its strength.
And the second statement is:[Al-Baqarah 2:115], meaning: So Allah the Exalted is before your faces. And supporting this statement is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the one praying: that he does not spit in front of his face. He said: Sahih Muslim 547a.
So the verse is susceptible to this and that, and its meaning is correct on both statements.
As for the Asha'irah and their saying: That this is the qiblah of supplication, it is said to them: Do you supplicate to the sky and not to the Lord of the sky? If you raise your hands to the sky and say: O Allah, then whom are you calling? Allah the Exalted and Glorious. So Allah is there. You are not saying: O Sky. And their saying that the sky is the qiblah of the supplicant is an error, because the qiblah of the supplicant is the Ka'bah. The worship in which facing the qiblah is prescribed is only prescribed toward the Ka'bah.
Yes, the time has ended now. Yes, and the brother Musa is now indicating that the time has ended and to a future meeting if Allah wills. And if you wish that we shorten the speech that comes before the questions in order to provide time, that is up to you. Yes, meaning... a quarter of an hour, ten minutes, then the questions come, because I see now that most of you have not been able to ask questions, and I do not know if they have a question or not. But if you see that we should shorten the speech, that would be good if Allah wills.
And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
The Shaykh : Amen.
The questioner : In the abridged version of *Al-Sawa'iq al-Mursalah* by Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him), when he came to the saying of Allah the Glorious:
So wherever you [might] turn, there is the Face of Allah
فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِthe Face of Allah
وَجْهُ اللَّهِThe Shaykh : First: I hope that the brothers present do not raise such a long, complex question. Most of the brothers now probably do not understand this at all, and it has not even occurred to them. So such a thing should be between me and the questioner.
But the noble verse has two statements from the Salaf: The first statement is that the meaning is: "So wherever you turn, there is the direction of Allah," meaning: its qiblah. In the sense that if the qiblah is unclear to you, and you pray while in the desert, praying toward a direction you think is the qiblah, and then it turns out it is not the qiblah, your prayer is valid, because this verse was mentioned as an introduction to the saying of Allah the Exalted:
The foolish among the people will say, "What has turned them away from their qiblah, which they used to face?" Say, "To Allah belongs the east and the west. He guides whom He wills to a straight path."
سَيَقُولُ السُّفَهَاءُ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَا وَلَّاهُمْ عَنْ قِبْلَتِهِمُ الَّتِي كَانُوا عَلَيْهَا قُلْ لِلَّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍAnd 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 اللَّهِTo Allah belongs the east and the west. He guides whom He wills to a straight path."
لِلَّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍAnd the second statement is:
So wherever you [might] turn, there is the Face of Allah
فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِfor Allah is in front of him
فإن الله قبل وجههSo the verse is susceptible to this and that, and its meaning is correct on both statements.
As for the Asha'irah and their saying: That this is the qiblah of supplication, it is said to them: Do you supplicate to the sky and not to the Lord of the sky? If you raise your hands to the sky and say: O Allah, then whom are you calling? Allah the Exalted and Glorious. So Allah is there. You are not saying: O Sky. And their saying that the sky is the qiblah of the supplicant is an error, because the qiblah of the supplicant is the Ka'bah. The worship in which facing the qiblah is prescribed is only prescribed toward the Ka'bah.
Yes, the time has ended now. Yes, and the brother Musa is now indicating that the time has ended and to a future meeting if Allah wills. And if you wish that we shorten the speech that comes before the questions in order to provide time, that is up to you. Yes, meaning... a quarter of an hour, ten minutes, then the questions come, because I see now that most of you have not been able to ask questions, and I do not know if they have a question or not. But if you see that we should shorten the speech, that would be good if Allah wills.
And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.