The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 248
CH. 2 AL-BAQARAH PT. 2 وَلَبِنْ آتَيْتَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَبَ بِكُلِّ And even if thou shouldst. 146 bring every Sign to those who آيَةٍ مَّا تَبِعُوا قِبْلَتَكَ وَمَا أَنْتَ بِتَابِع have been given the Book, they j would never follow thy Qiblah; قِبْلَتَهُمْ ۚ وَمَا بَعْضُهُمْ بِتَابِع قِبْلَةَ بَعْضٍ nor wouldst thou follow their وَلَبِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ مِّنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ إِنَّكَ إِذَا مِنَ others. And if thou shouldst الظَّلِمِينَ وقف لاتزه Qiblah; nor would some of them follow the Qiblah of follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to thee, then thou shalt surely be of the transgressors. 152 "109:3, 7. 6:57; 13:38. truth from their Lord, mean that Jews and Christians were convinced on the basis of prophecies found in their Scriptures having special reference to the Ka'bah and the Holy Prophet (Isa. 45:13, 14; John 4:21; Deut. 33:2; Gen. 21:21), that the commandment about the change of the Qiblah from the Temple at Jerusalem to the Ka'bah at Mecca was truly from God. Mecca lies in what is known as the Desert of Faran or Paran mentioned in some of the above-mentioned verses of the Bible, and therefore the Jews knew that the prophecies contained in them applied to the Ka'bah and the Holy Prophet. It may be noted here that, though in ordinary circumstances, the Muslims are enjoined to turn their faces to the Ka'bah when saying their prayers, yet as direction is of secondary importance, Islam ordains that, if in special circumstances, it becomes difficult for a man to turn his face to the Ka'bah or to keep it so turned, he 248 can say his Prayers in any direction that may be convenient. For instance, when a man does not know in which direction the Ka'bah lies, while travelling at night in a Railway train or on the back of an animal, etc. , he can pray facing any direction. Similarly, a sick man lying in bed may pray in a lying posture facing any direction that he may find convenient. 152. Commentary: This verse points to the hostility of Jews and Christians not only to Islam but also to one another. The Jews had Jerusalem as their Qiblah (See I. Kings 8:22-30; Dan. 6:10; Ps. 5:7; Jonah, 2:4) while the Samaritans, a disowned section of the Jews, who also followed the Mosaic Law, had adopted a certain mountain in Palestine, named Gerizim, as their Qiblah (John, 4:20 and Commentary on the New Testament by Right Rev. W. Walsham How, D. D. , published by Society for Promoting Christian