Qiblih

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Notes on the Qiblih

"The "Point of Adoration", that is, the point to which the worshipper should turn when offering obligatory prayer, is called the Qiblih. The concept of Qiblih has existed in previous religions. Jerusalem in the past had been fixed for this purpose. Muhammad changed the Qiblih to Mecca. The Báb's instructions in the Arabic Bayán were:      

"The Qiblih is indeed He Whom God will make manifest; whenever He moveth, it moveth, until He shall come to rest.

"This passage is quoted by Bahá'u'lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (# 137) and confirmed by Him in the above-noted verse. He has also indicated that facing in the direction of the Qiblih is a "fixed requirement for the recitation of obligatory prayer" (Q and A 14 and 67). However, for other prayers and devotions the individual may face in any direction."

(Universal House of Justice, Kitáb-i-Aqdas Notes no. 7)

"The Qiblih" (from the Kitáb-i-Aqdas Synopsis and Codification)

(from IV.A.2 under "Prayer" of the Synopsis and Codification)

"a. Identified by the Báb with "the One Whom God will make manifest"."

"O people of the Bayán! Fear ye the Most Merciful and consider what He hath revealed in another passage. He said: "The Qiblih is indeed He Whom God will make manifest; whenever He moveth, it moveth, until He shall come to rest." Thus was it set down by the Supreme Ordainer when He desired to make mention of this Most Great Beauty. Meditate on this, O people, and be not of them that wander distraught in the wilderness of error. If ye reject Him at the bidding of your idle fancies, where then is the Qiblih to which ye will turn, O assemblage of the heedless? Ponder ye this verse, and judge equitably before God, that haply ye may glean the pearls of mysteries from the ocean that surgeth in My Name, the All-Glorious, the Most High."

(Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, par. 137)

"c. Bahá'u'lláh ordains His resting-place as the Qiblih after His passing."

"In this Book He...fixes the Qiblih"

(Universal House of Justice, Kitáb-i-Aqdas Introduction p. 14)

Nothing found requiring the friends to stand and face the Qiblih upon reciting the Tablets of Visitation including on Holy Day observance (unless near or in the precincts of the Holy Shrines)

"Nothing has been found in the Baha'i Writings requiring the friends to stand and face the Qiblih whenever the Tablets of Visitation are recited. No issue should be made of this matter when a Holy Day observance is being held. However, when one is actually in, or within the precincts of one of the Holy Shrines, it is an act of simple reverence to stand and face that Shrine when the Tablet of Visitation is recited."

(On behalf of the Universal House of Justice, 19 August 1992, at http://bahai-library.com/uhj_holy_day_observances )

God changed the Qiblih in Islám (which had not been changed in past religions since Moses) solely to test His servants; otherwise the face of God is in any direction

"And likewise, reflect upon the revealed verse concerning the "Qiblih." [1 The direction toward which the face must be turned when praying.] When Muhammad, the Sun of Prophethood, had fled from the dayspring of Bathá[1 Mecca.] unto Yathrib,[2 Medina.] He continued to turn His face, while praying, unto Jerusalem, the holy city, until the time when the Jews began to utter unseemly words against Him — words which if mentioned would ill befit these pages and would weary the reader. Muhammad strongly resented these words. Whilst, wrapt in meditation and wonder, He was gazing toward heaven, He heard the kindly Voice of Gabriel, saying: "We behold Thee from above, turning Thy face to heaven; but We will have Thee turn to a Qiblih which shall please Thee."[3 Qur'án 2:144.] On a subsequent day, when the Prophet, together with His companions, was offering the noontide prayer, and had already performed two of the prescribed Rik'ats,[4 Prostrations.] the Voice of Gabriel was heard again: "Turn Thou Thy face towards the sacred Mosque."[5 At Mecca.],[6 Qur'án 2:149.] In the midst of that same prayer, Muhammad suddenly turned His face away from Jerusalem and faced the Ka'bih. Whereupon, a profound dismay seized suddenly the companions of the Prophet. Their faith was shaken severely. So great was their alarm, that many of them, discontinuing their prayer, apostatized their faith. Verily, God caused not this turmoil but to test and prove His servants. Otherwise, He, the ideal King, could easily have left the Qiblih unchanged, and could have caused Jerusalem to remain the Point of Adoration unto His Dispensation, thereby withholding not from that holy city the distinction of acceptance which had been conferred upon it.

"None of the many Prophets sent down, since Moses was made manifest, as Messengers of the Word of God, such as David, Jesus, and others among the more exalted Manifestations who have appeared during the intervening period between the Revelations of Moses and Muhammad, ever altered the law of the Qiblih. These Messengers of the Lord of creation have, one and all, directed their peoples to turn unto the same direction. In the eyes of God, the ideal King, all the places of the earth are one and the same, excepting that place which, in the days of His Manifestations, He doth appoint for a particular purpose. Even as He hath revealed: "The East and West are God's: therefore whichever way ye turn, there is the face of God."[1 Qur'án 2:115.] Notwithstanding the truth of these facts, why should the Qiblih have been changed, thus casting such dismay amongst the people, causing the companions of the Prophet to waver, and throwing so great a confusion into their midst? Yea, such things as throw consternation into the hearts of all men come to pass only that each soul may be tested by the touchstone of God, that the true may be known and distinguished from the false. Thus hath He revealed after the breach amongst the people: "We did not appoint that which Thou wouldst have to be the Qiblih, but that We might know him who followeth the Apostle from him who turneth on his heels."[2 Qur'án2:143.] "Affrighted asses fleeing from a lion."[3 Qur'án 74:50.]"

(Bahá'u'lláh, Kitáb-i-Íqán, pars. 54-55)

Resources

• Although the Universal House of Justice may not have ruled on exactly what constitutes "facing" the Qiblih, there is a website at https://qiblih.com which helps indicate the proper direction given the spherical nature of the earth.

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Unanswered (Application) Questions

• What is one to do about Obligatory Prayer when the time arrives and when one cannot calculate the Qiblih at the given location?