Qibla
 | This article's factual accuracy is disputed. |
Qibla (Template:ArB) is an Arabic word referring to the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays. At one point the direction of the Qibla was toward Baitul Muqaddas, Jerusalem (and it is therefore called the First of the Two Qiblas), however, this only lasted for seventeen months, after which the Qibla became oriented towards the Kaaba in Mecca. According to accounts from Muhammad's companions, the change happened very suddenly during the noon prayer in Medina. Muhammad was leading the prayer when he received a revelation from Allah instructing him to take the Kaaba as the Qiblah [literally, "turn your face towards the Masjid al Haram. According to the historical accounts, Muhammad, who had been facing Jerusalem, upon receiving this revelation, immediately turned around to face Mecca, and those praying behind him also did so. Some skeptics argue that the change was political in nature and resulted from a row with the Jews of Medina.
The Qibla, for any point of reference on the Earth, is the direction of the Kaaba. Some Muslims determine this direction using a rhumb line, while others use a great circle. [dubious – discuss] In Muslim religious practice, supplicants must face this direction in prayer. It should be noted that Muslims do not worship the Kaaba or its contents; the Kaaba is simply a focal point for prayer.
In ancient times, Muslims traveling abroad used an astrolabe to find the Qibla. At the two moments in each year when the Sun is directly overhead the Kaaba, the direction of shadows in any sunlit place will point directly away from the Qibla. al-Biruni used mathematics to determine the Qibla direction from any point on the Earth's surface.
The Qibla has importance to more than just the salat, and plays an important part in everyday ceremonies. The head of an animal that is slaughtered using Halal methods is aligned with the Qibla. After death, Muslims are buried with their faces in the direction of the Qibla.
Future questions
In April of 2006, Angkasa, the Malaysian space agency, sponsored a conference of scientists and religious scholars to address the issue of how the Qibla should be determined when one is in orbit; this is not merely a hypothetical question, since the Russian Federal Space Agency will be taking a Malaysian astronaut into orbit in 2007, and it is highly likely that this astronaut will be Muslim.
See also
- Masjid al Haram
- Black Stone
- Kaaba
- Qiblih, the Bahá'í equivalent of the Qibla
External links
- Qiblah in North America
- Worldwide Qibla Locator
- Full information of the Holy Ka'bah
- Al-Quds About.com
- Second Year of the Hijra on al-islam.org
- Qiblah In North America Argues that the Qiblah is based on a rhumb line path
- Qiblah direction Argues that the Qiblah is on a great circle path
- Determining the Sacred Direction of Islam
- Qibla Finder Widget for Konfabulator