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Towards Understanding the Quran
With kind permission: Islamic Foundation UK
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 Surah Al-Baqarah 2:142-142 [17/40] ↕
  
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Verse Summary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
۞ سَيَقُولُWill say
ٱلسُّفَهَآءُthe foolish ones
مِنَfrom
ٱلنَّاسِthe people,
مَا`What
وَلَّـٰهُمْ(has) turned them
عَنfrom
قِبْلَتِهِمُtheir direction of prayer
ٱلَّتِىwhich
كَانُواْthey were used to
عَلَيْهَا‌ۚ[on it].`
قُلSay,
لِّلَّهِ`For Allah
ٱلْمَشْرِقُ(is) the east
وَٱلْمَغْرِبُ‌ۚand the west.
يَهْدِىHe guides
مَنwhom
يَشَآءُHe wills
إِلَىٰto
صِرَٲطٍa path
مُّسْتَقِيمٍstraight.`
﴿١٤٢﴾

سَيَقُوۡلُ السُّفَهَآءُ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَا وَلّٰٮهُمۡ عَنۡ قِبۡلَتِهِمُ الَّتِىۡ كَانُوۡا عَلَيۡهَا ​ؕ قُل لِّلّٰهِ الۡمَشۡرِقُ وَالۡمَغۡرِبُ ؕ يَهۡدِىۡ مَنۡ يَّشَآءُ اِلٰى صِراطٍ مُّسۡتَقِيۡمٍ‏ 
Translation
(2:142) The block-headed will say: “What has turned them away from the direction they formerly observed in Prayer?”142 Say: “To Allah belong the East and the West; He guides whomsoever He wills onto a Straight Way.”143
Commentary

142. After his migration to Madina the Prophet continued to pray in the direction of Jerusalem for between sixteen and seventeen months. Subsequently, he received the order to pray in the direction of the Ka'bah. See( verse 144 below)

143. This is the first answer to the objections of these ignorant people. Their narrow minds and limited vision led them to undue attachment to such formalities as the direction and locale of Prayer. They presumably conceived God to be confined to a particular direction. In reply to their absurd objection the first thing which was explained was that all directions belong to God. Fixing any particular direction for Prayer does not mean that God is confined to that direction. All those who have been favoured with God's true guidance rise above such limitations of outlook so that it is easy for them to grasp the universal verities of religion. (See also (nn. 115 and 116 above.)