Benefits of the Hadith: (What lies between the East and the West is its qiblah)

The Shaykh : Several benefits are derived from this hadith. One is the facilitation of this Shari'ah, in that the direction of the qiblah is extended when one is far from seeing the Ka'bah. Another is that deviating from the exact alignment of the qiblah does not cause harm as long as one is within the general direction. The evidence for this is His saying: Among the benefits of this hadith is that a person is not required to strain himself to seek the exact alignment of the qiblah. In fact, some people may even demolish an existing, populated mosque due to a slight deviation that is excused. This is not permissible. If Allah has been generous to us, we should be generous. Another benefit of this hadith is that the addresses of the Shari'ah may be general or specific, and the situation and circumstances clarify this. For example, we know that this address is not suitable except for whom? For the people of Madinah and those like them whose qiblah is the South. Conversely, it is for the people of Yemen and those like them whose qiblah is the North. What do we say to one whose qiblah is the East or the West? We say: What lies between the North and the South is the qiblah. The area is vast, and praise be to Allah.