Ka’bah: The Qiblah of Islam

 

Divine Commandments- 7

Surely, the first House founded for mankind is that at Becca, abounding in blessings and a guidance for all peoples. (3:97)

‘Allah has made the Ka‘bah, the inviolable House, as a means of support and uplift for mankind’ (5:98). They should worship the Lord of this House, Who has fed them against hunger, and has given them security against fear (106: 4-5).

Say, ‘I am commanded only to serve the Lord of this city which He has made sacred, and to Him belong all things; and I am commanded to be of those who submit to God (27:92).  

 

Every religion has its place of origin; rites of sacrifice, modes of worship and direction of ritual prayer. Consider for instance: whereas the Jews organize their rituals of worship in the direction of Jerusalem, the ancient city of the Prophets of Israel; the Christian denominational groups orient their churches to usually face the East. At the dawn of Islam, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (sa) used to stand up for prayer at the Ka’bah in Makkah, yet in a way that also acknowledged the direction of Jerusalem as the city of God. 

The recognition of the sanctity of Ka’bah as the sole Qiblah (Al- Qiblah) of Islam came through divine revelations vouchsafed to the Holy Prophet (sa) and the verses are found in the Holy Qur’an itself. The recognition of the Ka’bah, and the rejection of Jerusalem as the Qiblah of ritual prayer, in a way marks a break-out from the cultural milieu-of the advent of Islam as a distinct spiritual community among other monotheistic faiths. Through the teaching on turning towards Makkah when offering prayers, Islam sought to distinguish and differentiate the new community of believers from the adherents and followers of other faiths in an important way.

Yet, the new Qiblah reclaimed (and deeply-entrenched) the lost legacy of Prophet Ibrahim (as) and his righteous progeny Hazrat Ismael (as) vis-à-vis the Ka’bah. Indeed, the Qur’an contains profound thoughts, pious hopes and sublime invocations made by Hazrat Ibrahim (as) and Hazrat Ismael (as) in re-establishing Tawheed in the Arabian Desert- long, long centuries before the advent of the Holy Prophet (sa). And remember the time when We made the House a resort for mankind and a place of security; and take ye the station of Abraham as a place of Prayer. And We commanded Abraham and Ishmael, saying, ‘Purify My House for those who perform the circuit and those who remain therein for devotion and those who bow down and fall prostrate in Prayer’ (2:126) And remember when Abraham said, ‘My Lord, make this a town of peace and provide with fruits such of its dwellers as believe in Allah and the Last Day,’ He said, ‘And on him too who believes not will I bestow benefits for a little while; then will I drive him to the punishment of the Fire, and an evil destination it is.’ (2:127) 

And remember the time when Abraham and Ishmael raised the foundations of the House, praying, ‘Our Lord, accept this from us; for You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. Our Lord, make us submissive to You and make of our offspring a people submissive to You. And show us our ways of worship, and turn to us with mercy; for You are Oft-Returning with compassion and Merciful. And, our Lord, raise up among them a Messenger from among themselves, who may recite to them Your Signs and teach them the Book and Wisdom and may purify them; surely, You are the Mighty, the Wise.’ (2:128-130) 

According to exegists of the Qur’an, Hazrat Adam (as) was the one who originally established the ancient Sacred House Tawheed centre at Arabia which required rejuvenation and reconstruction in the times of Hazrat Ibrahim (as): Call to mind when We assigned to Abraham the site of the House and commanded him: Associate not anything with Me, and purify My House for those who perform the circuits, and those who stand and bow down and fall down prostrate in Prayer (22:27).  The sublime rites of pilgrimage at Makkah, reformulated and renewed under Islam in the forms of Umrah and the Hajj, in many ways celebrate the uniquely-rich legacy of the Ka’bah as the sign of God. And the Qiblah of the Muslims. Reproduced Below are the Qur'anic revelations and prescriptions that discuss the Qiblah question in its contemporary religious and larger spiritual context:

The foolish among the people will say: ‘What has turned them away from their Qiblah which they followed?’ Say: ‘To Allah belong the East and the West. He guides whom He pleases to the right path’. (2:143)

And thus have We made you an exalted nation, that you may be guardians over men, and the Messenger of God may be a guardian over you. And We did not appoint the Qiblah which you did follow, except that We might know him who follows the Messenger of God from him who turns upon his heels. And this is indeed hard, except for those whom Allah has guided. And it does not behove Allah to let your faith go in vain; surely, Allah is Compassionate and Merciful to the people. (2:144)

Verily, We see you turning your face often to heaven; surely, then, will We make you turn to the Qiblah which you like. So, turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque; and wherever you be, turn your faces towards it. And they to whom the Book has been given know that this is the truth from their Lord; and Allah is not unmindful of what they do. (2:145)

And even if you should bring every Sign to those who have been given the Book, they would never follow your Qiblah; nor would you follow their Qiblah; nor would some of them follow the Qiblah of others. And if you should follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to you, then you shall surely be of the transgressors.  (2:146)

For every community, there is a direction of their own, so hasten to do good deeds. Wherever you may be, God will ultimately gather you in. God has power over all things. (2:149)

From wherever you come forth, turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque; that is indeed the truth from your Lord. And Allah is not unmindful of what you do. (2:150)

From wherever you come forth, turn your attention towards the Sacred Mosque; and wherever you may be, turn your full attention, towards it: so that excepting such of your enemies who are bent upon transgression against you, the rest of the people be left with no valid cause of contention against you in this respect. So fear not the transgressors, but fear only Me; that I may perfect My favour unto you; and that you may be rightly guided. (2:151)

Ahmadis: The Caliph as Qiblah ?

In the early days of the Divine Manifestation of Mauritius, at a time when Hazrat Munir Ahmad Azim Saheb of Mauritius began to be a recipient of Divinely- infused dreams, inspirations, messages and revelations; the Nizam-e-Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya in the country evolved the doctrine of absolute infallibility on their elected chief, the Caliph- the Khalifatul Massih as they call him. They began to declare their veneration for the Caliph so much that they worshipped him as the “Qiblah to Allah”, and thereby sought to justify their rejection of the revelations pertaining to the Divine selection of Hazrat Munir Azim Saheb in favour of their mundane assembly and its election process! Clearly, in failing to adopt Taqwah and carefully ponder over the Divine Will in the raising of a messenger among them through their blind-hero worship of the Caliph, the Nizamis have abandoned a Qur’anic warning: “Do the disbelievers think that, instead of Me, they will take My servants as helpers?” (18:103)

‘Qiblah’ certainly points to a direction of prayer; yet more than the literal space or place in Qiblah, what gains sanctity is the will of God reflected in the selection of the space/ place as the Qiblah. That is why Qiblah is much more than the East or the West in the Qur’an:

“It is not righteousness that you turn your faces to the East or the West..” (2:177)

To God belong the East and the West. Wheresoever you turn, there is the Face of God. God is All- Encompassing, All- Knowing. (2:116)

According to the Qur’an, faith is much more than following any community leader in life, nor turning one’s face in one direction or the other in times of prayer. The spirit of Islam cannot be mechanically reduced to mere façade of empty religiosity, as it demands true loyalty of heart and sincerity of endeavour  and utter submission to the Will and commandments of God, including the duty to respect divine revelations and humbly abide by Divine commandments. “To God belong the East and the West. He guides whosever He will unto a straight path.” (2:144) He is with you wherever you may be (57:4) 

The early Muslim community has had to adjust its Qiblah from Jerusalem to Makkah, based on divine revelations; and the Qur’an indicates that it was meant as a true test of faith to distinguish the believer from those who follow their own desires. 'We did not appoint the Qiblah which you did follow, except that We might know him who follows the Messenger of God from him who turns upon his heels. And this is indeed hard, except for those whom Allah has guided'. (2:144) Ahmadis today are being asked and demanded by Divine revelations to adjust their Qiblah, as it were- from a ‘Khalifatul Massih’ to a ‘Khalifatullah’- a Divine-Elect from among themselves in the person of Hazrat Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius. The larger spiritual test entailed is this: Whether Ahmadis will demonstrate true loyalty to faith and Divine words or will they turn on their heels?

As the Book of God notes:

 “(They think that the duty imposed on them of being loyal to God is fulfilled by merely observing certain rites and rituals. They should know that) loyalty to God does not merely mean that you face the East or the West (in the prayer) but loyalty is the loyalty of those who believe in God (with all their heart) and in the Last Day and in the angels of God and in His Books and in His prophets and who, though they love it dearly, give away their wealth to kinsfolk, to orphans, to the destitute, to the traveller and to those who ask and for the liberation of necks and who are diligent in the prayer and pay zakat, (and loyalty is the loyalty of those who) when make a promise fulfil it and especially (of those) who are steadfast in scarcity, illness and in times of war. These are the people who are truthful to God in fulfilling the promise of loyalty to Him and these are the ones who are in fact God-conscious”. (2:178)

For part 6 in the Series, click here.