Why do muslims face qibla

The Arabic word Q iblah comes from a root word Q-B-L meaning "to face, confront, or encounter" something. It is pronounced "qib" guttural Q sound and "la. In the early years of Islam, the Qiblah direction was towards the city of Jerusalem.

In about C. It is believed that having a Qiblah gives Muslim worshipers a way to achieve unity and focus in prayer. Although the Qiblah faces the Ka'aba in Makkah, it should be noted that Muslims direct their worship only to Almighty God, the Creator.

The Ka'aba is merely a capital and focal point for the entire Muslim world, not a true object of worship. When possible, mosques are constructed in such a way that one side of the building faces the Qiblah, to make it easier to organize worshipers into rows for prayer. The direction of the Qiblah is also often marked in the front of the mosque with an ornamental indentation in the wall, known as a mihrab.

During Muslim prayers , worshipers stand in straight rows, all turned in a single direction. The Imam prayer leader stands in front of them, also facing the same direction, with his back to the congregation. After death, Muslims are usually buried at a right angle to the Qibla, with face turned to face it. When traveling, Muslims often have difficulty determining the Qiblah in their new location, although prayer rooms and chapels in some airports and hospitals may indicate the direction.

Several companies offer small hand compasses for locating the Qiblah, but they can be cumbersome and confusing for those unfamiliar with their use. Sometimes a compass is sewn into the center of a prayer rug for this purpose. In medieval times, traveling Muslims often used an astrolabe instrument to establish the Qiblah for prayers.

Most Muslims now determine the Qiblah location using technology and one of the smartphone apps now available. Question 6: Why Pray In Arabic? Why it is allowed to pray two Prayers together? Question Are Other Religions Right? What is the forbidden fruit? What did the Almighty desire? Should man eat the forbidden fruit or not? Question Son of Nuh a. Question How Did Yusuf a. What is the duty of woman in the society? Continue with Facebook. Continue with Google. Salam Peace Mark,. Thank you very much for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.

The simple answer to this is that Muslims do not worship their qiblah the direction in which Muslims pray , nor do they face it for any reason apart from being commanded by God to do so. But why are they commanded to do so? What is the wisdom of facing one direction in prayer? Is it just about facing a direction or something more than that? Facing the qiblah is, first of all, a test to our ability to obey the commands of God even when we fall short from understanding His wisdom.

Muslims, as servants of God, are required to surrender to Him. One of the proofs of surrender is to trust the fact that He has wisdom in everything even if we cannot perceive this wisdom. When we face the qiblah with this intention of surrendering ourselves to God, we hope that we have succeeded in the test. Another aspect is the fact that the qiblah is a sign of the spiritual unity of Muslims.

At the time of prayer , Muslims all over the world are lined in circles big and small facing one direction and feeling belonging to this center and belonging to each other. This creates a spiritual unity among all Muslims all over the world and leaves them with a sense of belonging to each other.