What is the ruling if I prayed toward the qiblah that I arrived at after my ijtihad, knowing that I am in a house and do not know where the qiblah is?
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The questioner : What is the ruling if I prayed toward the qiblah that I arrived at after my ijtihad, knowing that I am in a house but do not know where the qiblah is?
The Shaykh : If you did this in the open country and there was no one around you to ask, and you exerted your effort and made a mistake, then your prayer is valid because you did what you were able to do. And Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Baqarah 2:286].
As for if you are in a town, you are not excused, because if you do not know the qiblah, you should ask; you ask the owner of the house or the neighbors, or you go to the mosque to look at its direction, or something similar to that.
The important thing is that there is a distinction between the open country and the town. In the town, a person can ask and know the qiblah, whereas in the open country, it is not possible. So if you exert your effort and face a specific direction that you think is the qiblah, and it turns out to be other than the qiblah, your prayer is valid.
The Shaykh : If you did this in the open country and there was no one around you to ask, and you exerted your effort and made a mistake, then your prayer is valid because you did what you were able to do. And Allah the Exalted said:
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity
لا يكلف الله نفساً إلى وسعهاAs for if you are in a town, you are not excused, because if you do not know the qiblah, you should ask; you ask the owner of the house or the neighbors, or you go to the mosque to look at its direction, or something similar to that.
The important thing is that there is a distinction between the open country and the town. In the town, a person can ask and know the qiblah, whereas in the open country, it is not possible. So if you exert your effort and face a specific direction that you think is the qiblah, and it turns out to be other than the qiblah, your prayer is valid.