2-148 And everyone has a goal to which he turns (himself), so vie with one another in good works.a Wherever you are, Allah will bring you all together. Surely Allah is Possessor of power over all things.b
وَلِكُلٍّ۬ وِجۡهَةٌ هُوَ مُوَلِّيہَاۖ فَٱسۡتَبِقُواْ ٱلۡخَيۡرَٲتِۚ أَيۡنَ مَا تَكُونُواْ يَأۡتِ بِكُمُ ٱللَّهُ جَمِيعًاۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ قَدِيرٌ۬ (١٤٨)
2-148a: لِكُلٍّ۬ – By لِكُلٍّ۬ is meant every nation or every follower of a religion or every person.
وِجۡهَةٌ – وَجۡه means aim or object and جِھَةَ and وِجھَة means purpose, and in reality جِھَةَ and وِجھَة is the thing towards which one turns ones attention (R).
ٱسۡتَبِقُواْ – سَبۡق means to go/come before or ahead of, that is to precede. And استباق means تسابق, that is to go ahead of another. Besides its use to describe the relative position of walkers, it is also used in vying with one another, as in, for example, piety. In ٱلسَّـٰبِقُونَ ٱلسَّـٰبِقُونَ as in many other places it means to vie with one another (R).
This section gives the rationale for having one qiblah and why the Kabah was appointed as the qiblah. Just as the Muslims have a physical qiblah, they also have a spiritual qiblah. Every nation has an established objective, but it is confined to the material world only. The Muslims, however, are advised to vie in charity and piety, and to establish this as the goal of their life. More literally, its meaning is that every nation has set a goal for itself. The Muslims should strive towards the qiblah which by virtue of being the real center of monotheism makes Muslims the rightful claimants to all kind of good and pious deeds. Just as associating partners with Allah is the root cause of all evil, monotheism gives birth to all kinds of virtue. If لِكُلٍّ۬ is taken to refer to an individual, the meaning is that every person will have to face a direction during prayer, and without uniformity in the direction of prayer, it is not possible for all of them to focus on the same goal. So, by establishing a uniform direction of prayer for Muslims around the world, the foundation was laid for their unity and solidarity – adherence to which results in many virtues. In reality the unanimous acceptance of one qiblah is the foundation of the universal brotherhood of Islam. It is stated in the hadith precisely for this reason that: لا تکفر اھل قبلتك (Do not call a follower of your qibla an unbeliever).
Muslims do not worship the Kabah: The sanctity of the Kabah in the hearts of Muslims is because of its position as the center of monotheism, and as the center of the unity of mankind. Some short-sighted opponents interpret this sanctity as worship of the Kabah, and object on this ground. However, to hold something sacred is entirely different from worshipping it. There are three essential elements in worship. First, to be so overcome by the greatness of the thing so as to devote full attention to it. Second, to praise and glorify it. Third, to pray and ask favors from it. When Muslims face the Kabah in prayer, there is not even a hint of these elements in their mind. They acclaim Allah to be the greatest, and sometimes stand in reverence with hands folded, sometimes bow to Him and sometimes prostrate before Him. They praise and glorify Allah, the Most High, and whatever they ask, they ask from their real Master. In their prayer, there is not a hint of the greatness of the Kabah, nor is their attention focused on it, nor do they praise or glorify the Kabah, nor do they ask for anything from the Kabah. Hence it is ignorant and prejudiced to call simply facing the direction of the Kabah during prayer, worshipping. Further, the Muslim prayer was the same even when the Muslims prayed in the direction of Bait ul Muqaddas with the Kabah behind them. Did they then worship Bait ul Muqaddas?
Interestingly, even the polytheists of Makkah never worshipped the Kabah despite the great reverence they had for it. They worshipped the idols that they placed in the Kabah, but never the structure itself. Even the Black Stone, which is kissed, was never an object of worship in Arabia. This is an unhewn stone and they never considered it an object of worship nor did they pray for their needs from it. They did kiss it while circumambulating and Muslims do that too. But that is merely a sign of love because that stone was placed there as a sign. This is the stone about which David indicates in his Psalms, “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” (Psalms 118:22-23). This is the unhewn stone that is mentioned in Daniel, “Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands,…” (Daniel 2:45). Scrutinizing all the sacred scriptures shows that this unhewn stone can only be a metaphorical indication of Bani Ishmael. The rejection of Jesus by the Jews was not an unusual occurrence. Similar rejection was faced by all the prophets. But Bani Israel, who remained rulers for a period of time, totally refuted Bani Ishmael, and even went to the extent of expelling them, as far as they were concerned, from the Abrahamic covenant. They were not only expelled from their country to a desert but were considered by the Israelites as refuted for good. This was the stone [Bani Ishmael] which was rejected by the builders [Bani Israel] and the Black Stone memorializes this history. Kissing the stone symbolizes it becoming the corner stone. Jesus in the parable of the vineyard has also hinted about this when he says that when the owner of the vineyard comes, he will hand the vineyard to another husbandman. What is this vineyard? It is the kingdom of God that Jesus himself described while further clarifying the parable in these words: “Jesus said unto them, ‘Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore, I say unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder) (Mathew 21:42-44). Here Jesus clearly tells Bani Israel that the Kingdom of God will be taken from them and given to another nation. Which nation? The nation whose identification is the stone is the one the builders rejected, namely Bani Ishmael. The Black Stone is kissed to indicate this truth.
2:148b: The Kabah as the qibla creates unity: There are three possible meanings here: wherever you are, Allah will gather you in one place, Allah will cause you to die, or Allah will direct your prayers in the same direction (Bd). فیات بکم مجازعن جعل الصلٰوة متحدة الجہة (RM). In light of the context, the last meaning is most appropriate. Accordingly, whether Muslims are in the east, west, north or south, regardless of where they are scattered, when they face the direction of the one Kabah, there will be uniformity in their prayers and unity among themselves.
Although manifestly what has been stated here is that wherever Muslims are their prayer will be in the same direction, there is also a great prophecy associated with this. It is that wherever in the world Muslims may be, Allah will create with this uniformity in praying a unity among the Muslims. A distinguishing characteristic of Islam is that, unlike the other religions, it breaks the boundaries of nationality and ethnicity and unites the Muslims wherever they may be.
2-149 And from whatsoever place thou comest forth, turn thy face towards the Sacred Mosque. And surely it is the truth from thy Lord. And Allah is not heedless of what you do.
2-150 And from whatsoever place thou comest forth turn thy face towards the Sacred Mosque.a And wherever you are turn your faces towards it, so that people may have no plea against you except such of them as are unjust — so fear them not and fear Meb — and that I may complete My favour to you and that you may go aright.c
وَمِنۡ حَيۡثُ خَرَجۡتَ فَوَلِّ وَجۡهَكَ شَطۡرَ ٱلۡمَسۡجِدِ ٱلۡحَرَامِۖ وَإِنَّهُ ۥ لَلۡحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكَۗ وَمَا ٱللَّهُ بِغَـٰفِلٍ عَمَّا تَعۡمَلُونَ (١٤٩)
وَمِنۡ حَيۡثُ خَرَجۡتَ فَوَلِّ وَجۡهَكَ شَطۡرَ ٱلۡمَسۡجِدِ ٱلۡحَرَامِۚ وَحَيۡثُ مَا كُنتُمۡ فَوَلُّواْ وُجُوهَڪُمۡ شَطۡرَهُ ۥ لِئَلَّا يَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَيۡكُمۡ حُجَّةٌ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ مِنۡہُمۡ فَلَا تَخۡشَوۡهُمۡ وَٱخۡشَوۡنِى وَلِأُتِمَّ نِعۡمَتِى عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَلَعَلَّكُمۡ تَہۡتَدُونَ (١٥٠)
2-150a: The rationale for repeating the command to face the Kabah three times: The command, And from whatsoever place thou comest forth turn thy face towards the Sacred Mosque is repeated three times. First in verse 144, next in verse 149, and for the third time here, but its purpose is different each time. The first time, the purpose is to give assurance that the Kabah will not remain in the possession of idol worshippers, Muslims will be made its guardians. So, it was permissible to face in the direction of the Kabah. Verse 148 informs that the real purpose of one qiblah is to create unity, and the command is repeated that wherever you may be, turn your face towards the Kabah and try to achieve the real purport. The third time, it is repeated here to turn your face towards the Kabah so that people may have no plea against you. The turning of the face towards the the Kabah was to fend off criticism as to why the prophet, who came in fulfilment of Abraham’s prayer did not have his qiblah facing where Ishmael was left as a sign. Accordingly, it is clearly stated in verse 151 that he is the prophet who is the response to Abraham’s prayer.
2-150b: The objection of the Ahl e Kitab that Kabah was made the qiblah to ally the Arabs: إِلَّا here is used to create an exception. The meaning is that there is no rational objection left for the people to make, and a sound rebuttal is given to all of them, but those who are unjust will not stop their carping. Or the meaning is that if they still object then they are unjust. The Jews of the time used to say, and the Christians say to this day, that making the Kabah the qiblah was to ally the Arabs. This is said of a man who eliminated, with no vestiges left, many centuries of idol worship, boozing, gambling, fornication, internecine wars, and evil traditions. Was it difficult for him to make the Arabs relinquish the Kabah? The answer is a resounding no. As a matter of fact, he prayed with his back towards the Kabah for a full year and a half and there was not even a murmur of disapproval. All the Muslims prayed likewise, and there was no let up in the advancement of Islam during this period. Thus, this objection is without any merit.
The first and last house for the worship of Allah: The second reason mentioned for turning your face to Kabah is so that Allah may complete his favors on you, and you may be perfectly guided. God had knowledge that all these things were associated with the Kabah, the first house for the worship of Allah on this earth. The first house was designated as the last qiblah. The place from which mankind scattered to all parts of the world and now this was to be the place where it was to gather again. Makkah can also be considered the center of the earth because Arabia is situated in the middle of the Old World. The world had forgotten the Kabah and the unity of God. Holy Prophet brought both of them back.
2-151 Even as We have sent among you a Messenger from among you, who recites to you Our messages and purifies you and teaches you the Book and the Wisdom and teaches you that which you did not know.a
كَمَآ أَرۡسَلۡنَا فِيڪُمۡ رَسُولاً۬ مِّنڪُمۡ يَتۡلُواْ عَلَيۡكُمۡ ءَايَـٰتِنَا وَيُزَكِّيڪُمۡ وَيُعَلِّمُڪُمُ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلۡحِڪۡمَةَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُم مَّا لَمۡ تَكُونُواْ تَعۡلَمُونَ (١٥١)
2:151a: The Prophet sent in fulfilment of Abraham’s prayer and the Abrahamic qibla: The Prophet came in fulfilment of the prayer of Abraham Therefore it was befitting that the Kabah, the house that Abraham built be established as the qibla for the Muslims. Accordingly, the statement made here is in the same words used in the prayer of Abraham described earlier. The indication here is that Abraham’s prayer was accepted and in fulfilment thereof, a Prophet was sent. It was necessary that the House he had built be declared the qiblah, so that the Muslims may become the bearers of truth to the world. Accordingly, stated after discussing the objections to the change of the qibla, was لِّتَڪُونُواْ شُہَدَآءَ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ (…that you may be bearers of witness to the people).
2-152 Therefore glorify Me, I will make you eminent, and give thanks to Me and be not ungrateful to Me.a
فَٱذۡكُرُونِىٓ أَذۡكُرۡكُمۡ وَٱشۡڪُرُواْ لِى وَلَا تَكۡفُرُونِ (١٥٢)
2-152a: ٱذۡكُرُونِىٓ – The meaning of ذکر is حفظ الشئ (T), that is to remember something. This is done in two ways: one is to remember by the tongue and the other is to remember in the heart. Each one of these can take two forms: one is to remember after forgetting and the second is to remember all the time (R). The meaning of ذکر is also ثناء that is, to praise, and also شرف that is, to honor, exalt or dignify (T). ذکر as a reminder is used in إِنَّهُ ۥ لَذِكۡرٌ۬ لَّكَ وَلِقَوۡمِكَ (And surely it is a reminder for thee and thy people) (43:44) and in the latter sense ذکر is used in صٓۚ وَٱلۡقُرۡءَانِ ذِى ٱلذِّكۡرِ (Truthful God! By the Quran possessing eminence) (38:1). ٱلذِّكۡرِ is also a name for the Quran. The meaning here of ٱذۡكُرُونِىٓ is for a person to praise and extol Allah and to spread the Word of God in His creation, andأَذۡكُر is Allah’s response in the form of bestowing him with honor. Just as the Quran states the punishment for evil by using the same words for which see 2:15a, it has stated the reward of doing good also in the same words; the intention is to give reward for the remembrance of Allah. The meaning of کفر here is ungratefulness or hiding of favors. See 2:7a.
Muslims can achieve greatness by propagating the Word of Allah: Muslims are advised to mention Allah, that is to spread His name throughout the world, and if this is done, Allah will make them great. But if the Muslims conceal this great favor, then they are liable to be punished. Accordingly, the next section is divided into two parts. One-part deals with how to face the difficulties attendant upon spreading guidance, and the other part deals with concealing guidance. One wishes that the Muslims could understand that to achieve greatness, it is necessary for them to implement this Divine advice and make propagating Islam the major objective of their life.
Bayan-ul-Quran 