What is your comment on the mosque imam's fatwa that the qiblah is a secondary matter and that it is not permissible to differ over it, meaning we should not give any attention to returning it to its correct direction?

The questioner : The third question: The mosque imam issued a fatwa that the qiblah is a secondary matter and that it is not permissible to differ over it, meaning we should not give any attention to returning it to its correct direction?

The Shaykh : This is pure ignorance. The qiblah is a condition of the prayer, just as ritual purity is. How can one say, how can a Muslim say, that this is a secondary matter? But I think he means that it is a secondary matter regarding the facilitation understood from his saying: . However, the response to this, as previously explained, is that this applies when those who are not in the presence of the Ka'bah cannot determine it. Therefore, the scholars agreed on the validity of praying toward the direction of the qiblah, i.e., toward the south, no matter the deviation, as long as it is not possible to determine the direction of the qiblah. If a person or persons can determine the qiblah by the means we mentioned, then it is also not correct for anyone to say that the matter is entirely secondary. This reminds me of an error committed by the pilgrims to the Sacred House and the residents of the Sacred Mosque. They pray in the Sacred Mosque, and we, for example, pray behind some of the rows, and we find that many of those in the rows deviate from the exact position of the Ka'bah, so their prayer is invalid. Perhaps you understood what I meant?

The questioner : Yes, Shaykh.

The Shaykh : For example, if we assume that a side of the Ka'bah extends 20 meters, and when the row forms in a circle, some of these people deviate from the last line of the 20 meters and the first line of the 20 meters, so they face the empty space and do not face even the corner, whether the right or the left, so their prayer is invalid. Why? Because the Ka'bah is in front of them, and they are commanded to face the Ka'bah itself. But if they are far away and do not see it, even in Makkah, if they do not see it, then his saying applies there: . As for one who is, for example, in a high house and sees the Ka'bah from the window, but does not face it directly, his prayer is invalid. And on this basis, one cannot say with this generality, which you quoted from this imam, that the issue of the qiblah is secondary. And this is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, until we give the turn to someone else.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : And may Allah protect you, if Allah wills, and peace be upon you.
Look, here you have the name Khalid, Khalid, Khalid, to finish, Khalid. You read the name completely. So if you find "Siblan" anywhere in the line, Siblan, that is my request.