Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

I want to know how one can remedy a prayer if he goes to another land and mistakenly prayed without facing the correct direction of al qibla?

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Prayed in direction other than qibla

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 149:

149 From whencesoever thou startest forth (for prayer), turn thy face in the direction of the Sacred Mosque; that is indeed the Truth from thy Lord. And Allah is not unmindful of what ye do.

Regardless of which land one happens to reside in or visit on the earth, to turn one’s face towards the direction of the prescribed ‘qibla’ is indeed one of the

obligatory rites of prayer.

If one happens to go to an unknown land or place, strives one’s hardest to the best of one’s ability to determine the direction of the ‘qibla’, and faces the direction one has determined to be the ‘qibla’ in their prayer….even if their determination of the direction of the ‘qibla’ was incorrect, the absolute majority of the scholars and jurists are of the opinion that the prayer of such a person would be deemed valid and they would not have to repeat their prayer.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 64 Surah Tagabhun verse 16:

16 So fear Allah as much as ye can; listen and obey; and spend in charity for the benefit of your own souls: and those saved from the covetousness of their own souls they are the ones that achieve prosperity.

But if one were to intentionally offer their prayers facing a direction other than the prescribed ‘qibla’, their prayer would be deemed absolutely invalid ……..not only should they seek forgiveness from their Lord for their manifest transgression, they would have to repeat their prayer as an atonement for their transgression.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan