Is it true that in prayer a Shafi’i has to try and face the Ka’bah directly when they want to pray rather than sufficing with facing the direction of where the Ka’bah is i.e. Makkah
Quran
Hadith
Islamic Text
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most Merciful Most Kind
Short Answer
The Shafi’i school stipulates that in order for the condition of facing the Qiblah to be fulfilled a person must be considered to be facing (al-Musāmatah), with their entire upper torso, towards the Ka’bah by custom (Al-‘Urf). By custom, it means that an onlooker would consider the person is facing the Ka’bah.
Explanation
If one is close in proximity to the Ka’bah, they need a high level of accuracy and direction with their positioning to fulfil the condition aforementioned; but when one is distant to the Ka’bah, their level of accuracy is less concerning as the further you move away from an object in a given direction, the less accuracy is required to be considered by an onlooker to be seen as still facing towards that particular object.
Allah, Exalted is He, states in Al-Baqarah:144,
﴿فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ﴾
“And turn towards al-Masjid al-Haram”
Al-Bukhari (d.256AH), may Allah have mercy on him, reports,
حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ نَصْرٍ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّزَّاقِ أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ جُرَيْجٍ عَنْ عَطَاءٍ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ ابْنَ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ لَمَّا دَخَلَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْبَيْتَ دَعَا فِي نَوَاحِيهِ كُلِّهَا وَلَمْ يُصَلِّ حَتَّى خَرَجَ مِنْهُ فَلَمَّا خَرَجَ رَكَعَ رَكْعَتَيْنِ فِي قُبُلِ الْكَعْبَةِ وَقَالَ هَذِهِ الْقِبْلَةُ
“From ʿAṭāʾ who said: I heard Ibn ʿAbbās say, “When the Prophet ﷺ entered the Kaaba, he made supplication in all of its corners and did not perform prayer inside it. When he exited, he prayed two rakʿahs in front of the Ka’bah and said, ‘This is the Qibla.’” (no. 398)
Imam Shams ar-Ramli (d.1004), may Allah have mercy on him, states in Nihayat’ul-muhtaj (1/427),
وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْفَرْضَ فِي حَقِّ الْقَرِيبِ مِنْ الْكَعْبَةِ إصَابَةُ عَيْنِهَا وَكَذَا الْبَعِيدُ فِي الْأَظْهَرِ، لَكِنْ فِي الْقُرْبِ يَقِينًا وَفِي الْبُعْدِ ظَنًّا، وَلَا يُعَكِّرُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ الْحَدِيثُ السَّابِقُ مَا بَيْنَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ قِبْلَةٌ وَلَا صِحَّةُ صَلَاةِ الصَّفِّ الْمُسْتَطِيلِ مِنْ الْمَشْرِقِ إلَى الْمَغْرِبِ لِأَنَّ الْمُسَامَتَةَ تَصْدُقُ مَعَ الْبُعْدِ
“Know that the obligation for one who is close to the Ka’bah is to directly face its exact location, and the same applies to one who is far, according to the most correct opinion. However, for the one near, this must be done with certainty, and for the one far, with probable assumption. The previous hadith, “What lies between the east and west is a Qibla,” does not contradict this nor does the prayer of a [straight] row stretching from the east to the west because alignment with the Ka’bah can apply even from a distance.”
Imam ‘Ali ash-Shabramallisi (d.1087AH), may Allah have mercy on him, explains the last few words of Imam Ramli aforementioned citing Shaykh Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, may Allah have mercy on them both,
قَوْلُهُ: لِأَنَّ الْمُسَامَتَةَ تَصْدُقُ أَيْ لِمَا قَالُوهُ مِنْ أَنَّ صَغِيرَ الْجُرْمِ كُلَّمَا زَادَ بُعْدُهُ اتَّسَعَتْ مُسَامَتَتُهُ كَالنَّارِ الْمُوقِدَةِ مِنْ بُعْدٍ وَغَرَضِ الرُّمَاةِ اهـ حَجّ
“(His statement: “because alignment with the Ka’bah can apply”) means that as something small becomes further away, its alignment becomes broader, as in the example of a lit fire seen from a distance or an archer’s target – Ibn Hajar.”
Shaykh Ibn Hajar al-Haytami (d.974AH) states in Tuhfat’ul-muhtaj (1/484),
وفي الخادم ليس المراد بالعين الجدار، بل أمر اصطلاحي أي وهو سمت البيت وهواؤه إلى السماء والأرض السابعة هـ
“In Khadim, the term “object” does not refer to the walls, but rather to a technical meaning, which is the alignment to the Ka’bah and its space extending upwards to the seventh sky and downwards to the seventh earth.”
He, may Allah have mercy on him, also states in Tuhfat’ul-muhtaj (1/484),
وَالْمُعْتَبَرُ مُسَامَتَتُهَا عُرْفًا لَا حَقِيقَةً
“What is considered is its alignment according to custom, not in reality.”
Contrary to what some may believe or have heard regarding the Shafi’i school, aiming directly for the Ka’bah from a distance with a high precision of accuracy is not required by the Sacred Law. Although this issue concerning the direction of where the Ka’bah is situated as Qiblah is quite nuanced and requires a very technical discussion, it has been clearly presented that for the one who is distant from the Holy Ka’bah they need only to have a good sense of alignment to where it is situated and not the high level of precision that perhaps some may have incorrectly believed. This high level of precision is necessary only if one is in close proximity to the Holy Ka’bah.
And Allah Most High Knows Best.
–Answered by Shaykh Mohammed Jamili (12.10.24)
