Overall meaning : Allah Almighty points out that the ignorant people from amongst the Jews, hypocrites and those ascribing partners to Him—those who do not know where their own good lies and are prone to neglect their own interest—will ask, their hearts filled with doubt, about the reason behind Muslims’ ceasing to face Jerusalem in their prayer. Therefore, He instructs His Prophet, Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to reply to them, saying that to Him belong the East and the West and what lies between them, and so He has the prerogative to command Muslims to face any direction He wills, and that He will guide whoever He wishes to follow the right path by obeying His command to face the Ka’bah during the prayer, or any of His other commands, for that matter.
Just as Allah Almighty has guided the nation of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to the best direction of prayer, so He has made them the most just and the best nation so that they would be witnesses over the rest of the nations before them, testifying that their prophets and messengers have faithfully conveyed their Lord’s message to them, and so that Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, will testify to the truthfulness of this nation’s testimony in this respect.
Then, addressing His Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, Almighty Allah states that He first enjoined him and the Muslims to face Jerusalem in their prayer and later abrogated this ruling by instructing him to face the Ka’bah instead only as a test, to distinguish those who would obey the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, from those who would renounce their religion. Indeed, the change of the direction of prayer (qiblah) was too hard to bear, but not for those whom Allah had guided. Allah then reassures the believers that He would under no circumstances deny their reward for having previously prayed facing Jerusalem before they were commanded to change the direction of prayer, stating that such reward is with Him, Exalted and Glorified be He, for He is immensely merciful to mankind.
Allah Almighty then says to His Prophet, Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace that many a time has He seen him look up to the heavens, turning his face here and there, in anticipation of some revelation enlightening him about the change of the qiblah. He then assures him that He will direct him to a qiblah that will surely please him, instructing him to pray in the direction of the Ka’bah and directing the believers to pray facing the Ka’bah wherever they may be. The Jews and Christians know well, according to the information in their books, that Allah’s command to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is certainly the truth. Allah Almighty is by no means unware of those who know the truth but obstinately deny it and adamantly refuse to follow it.
Next, Allah Almighty reveals to His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the extent of the Jews’ and the Christians’ stubbornness and their blind adherence to falsehood: Even if the Prophet provided them with all manner of proofs that the truth is what he has brought regarding the change of the qiblah from Jerusalem to the Ka’bah in Makkah, they would never follow him in this respect, nor would he ever pray facing their qiblah because of his strict adherence to divine commands, nor would any of them, be they Jews or Christians, accept one another’s qiblah. Then he enjoins him, and by extension all his followers, not to follow the desires of the People of the Book after the truth has become clear to them, stating that if he did, he would surely be among the wrongdoers.
The Almighty then points out that the People of the Book, both Jews and Christians, recognise Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with all his distinguishing attributes just as they recognise their own children, and they know for certain that he has been sent from his Lord, based on the information they have in their books, and that what he has brought is undoubtedly the truth, including the divine command to change the qiblah; however, a group of them deliberately conceal the truth and they know it!
Allah Almighty next informs His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that the truth is indeed what has come to him from his Lord and warns him against letting doubt creep into his heart.
Then He declares that the adherents of every religion have a direction to which they turn in their prayers, whether this direction is prescribed for them by Allah Himself or they themselves have set as a result of their own fancies.
Then He commands the faithful to hasten to obey His commands, including His command to pray in the direction of the qiblah He has directed them to face in their prayers, and informs them that no matter where they die, He will surely bring them all together on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed, nothing can possibly frustrate His will, as He has power over all things.
The Almighty then instructs His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to face the direction of the Ka’bah in his prayers wherever he may be, for this is surely the unquestionable truth that cannot be doubted in the least. Allah is never heedless of what people do; He is fully aware of all their deeds, and He will repay them according to them.
Then He reiterates His command to him, and to all the believers for that matter, that they should pray facing the direction of the Ka’bah wherever they may be, stating that the change of the qiblah has taken place so as not to afford the Jews the opportunity to argue that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his followers will not criticize and disparage their religion as long as they have previously prayed towards Jerusalem. Therefore, the change of the qiblah from Jerusalem to the Ka’bah overwhelmingly refutes such argument. Also, the Quraysh idolaters’ argument that the believers have returned to their qiblah and thus are going to follow their religion proves equally untenable.
For that reason, Allah Almighty instructs the faithful not to fear such wrongdoers or their flawed arguments, and commands them to fear Him alone, as He alone deserves to be feared.
He further points out that one of the reasons for the change of the qiblah lies in completing and perfecting the religious rulings for the believers, so that they will obey divine commands and accept them wholeheartedly and thus obtain His guidance.