Reading from the author's text with commentary and collation of manuscripts: "And from this chapter is the saying of the Exalted

The Shaykh : Are you reading from the manuscript now?
The reader: No, no, the printed one.

The Shaykh : Okay, leave it there, bring up the paragraph now, yes.
The reader: "And from this chapter is the saying of the Exalted:

⁽¹⁴⁵⁾ And if you brought to those who were given the Scripture every sign, they would not follow your qiblah. Nor will you be a follower of their qiblah. Nor would they be followers of one another's qiblah. So if you were to follow their desires after what has come to you of knowledge, indeed, you would then be among the wrongdoers. ⁽¹⁴⁶⁾ Those to whom We gave the Scripture know him as they know their own sons. But indeed, a party of them conceal the truth while they know [it]. ⁽¹⁴⁷⁾ The truth is from your Lord, so never be among the doubters. ⁽¹⁴⁸⁾ For each [religious following] is a direction toward which it faces. So race to [all that is] good. Wherever you may be, Allah will bring you forth [for judgement] all together. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent. ⁽¹⁴⁹⁾ So from wherever you go out [for prayer, O Muhammad] turn your face toward al- Masjid al-Haram, and indeed, it is the truth from your Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what you do. ⁽¹⁵⁰⁾ And from wherever you go out [for prayer], turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you [believers] may be, turn your faces toward it in order that the people will not have any argument against you, except for those of them who commit wrong; so fear them not but fear Me. And [it is] so I may complete My favor upon you and that you may be guided.

وَلَئِنْ أَتَيْتَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ بِكُلِّ آيَةٍ مَا تَبِعُوا قِبْلَتَكَ وَمَا أَنْتَ بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَتَهُمْ وَمَا بَعْضُهُمْ بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَةَ بَعْضٍ وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ إِنَّكَ إِذًا لَمِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ * الَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابَ يَعْرِفُونَهُ كَمَا يَعْرِفُونَ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ وَإِنَّ فَرِيقًا مِنْهُمْ لَيَكْتُمُونَ الْحَقَّ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ * الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكَ فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُمْتَرِينَ * وَلِكُلٍّ وِجْهَةٌ هُوَ مُوَلِّيهَا فَاسْتَبِقُوا الْخَيْرَاتِ أَيْنَ مَا تَكُونُوا يَأْتِ بِكُمُ اللَّهُ جَمِيعًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ * وَمِنْ حَيْثُ خَرَجْتَ فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَإِنَّهُ لَلْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكَ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ * وَمِنْ حَيْثُ خَرَجْتَ فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنْتُمْ فَوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُ لِئَلَّا يَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَيْكُمْ حُجَّةٌ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْهُمْ

[Al-Baqarah 2:145-150]

More than one of the Salaf said: Its meaning is: so that the Jews do not argue against you by agreement in the qiblah, saying: 'You have agreed with us in our qiblah, so you will soon agree with us in our religion.' So Allah cut off this argument by differing from them in the qiblah, for an argument is the name for everything by which one argues"

The Shaykh : For, repeat
The reader: "For an argument is the name for everything by which one argues"

The Shaykh : Why do you cut the hamza? For an argument is the name
The reader: "For an argument is the name for everything by which one argues, whether truth or falsehood,

except for those of them who commit wrong

إلا الذين ظلموا منهم

[Al-Baqarah 2:150]

and they are Quraysh, for they say: 'They have returned to our qiblah, so they will soon return to our religion'".
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: ... .

The Shaykh : Yes, do not contradict, but let him complete the evidence.
The reader: "So the Exalted made clear that among the wisdom of abrogating the qiblah and changing it is differing from the disbelieving people in their qiblah, so that this would be a severer cut to what they hope for in falsehood, and it is known that this meaning is established in every difference and agreement, for if a disbeliever is followed in something of his affair, he has in the argument like what was".

The Shaykh : In the argument, he has from the argument.
The reader: "He has from the argument like what was, or close"

The Shaykh : Or close
The reader: "Or close to what was for the Jews in the argument in the qiblah. And the Exalted said:

And do not be like the ones who became divided and differed after the clear proofs had come to them

ولا تكونوا كالذين تفرقوا واختلفوا من بعد ما جاءهم البينات

[Ali 'Imran 3:105]

and they are: the Jews and the Christians, who divided into more than seventy sects, for this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade following them in the very act of division and difference, even though he (peace and blessings be upon him) informed

That his Ummah would divide into seventy-three sects

أن أمته ستفترق على ثلاث وسبعين فرقة

And even though his saying: 'Do not be like so-and-so,' may encompass similarity by way of wording or meaning, if it did not encompass it, it indicates that the genus of differing from them and leaving off their imitation is a prescribed matter, and it indicates that the further a man is from imitating them in what was not prescribed"

The Shaykh : And it indicates that
The reader: "And it indicates that the further a man is from imitating them in what was not prescribed for us, the further he is from falling into the very imitation that is forbidden, and this is a great benefit".

The Shaykh : The Shaykh's (may Allah have mercy on him) intent in the context of these verses is that imitating them necessitates that they rejoice in it and count it as their agreement, and that they use this imitation as an argument against us, saying that if we imitate them in such-and-such, they will imitate us in religion. For this reason he said: This is all his (may Allah have mercy on him) speech revolves around this, and that imitation, just as it may be a cause for a person to imitate them in creed, action, and worship, they also argue with it, saying: 'You imitated us in this, so imitate us in this,' so this becomes an argument for them against us, even though they themselves only followed their desires in what they are upon, for after the sending of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), they were obligated to follow him, but they remained upon their desires.