of the southern side of the mosque, for example, may face its northern side, even if the Kaʿbah is to his right or left. Yet no one holds this view. Thus, what is primarily intended is the Kaʿbah itself; whenever this is possible, it is obligatory.

His statement, “And whoever is far away, then its direction,” means: whoever is far from the Kaʿbah such that he cannot see it is required to face in its direction. The Prophet ﷺ defined this direction when he said: “Do not face the qiblah when relieving yourselves, whether defecating or urinating, nor turn your backs to it; rather, face east or west.” (1) When he said, “Face east or west,” he meant the opposite direction of the qiblah. Accordingly, for the people of Madinah, everything between east and west is qiblah; the entire south is their qiblah. Their qiblah is not only the precise line directly facing the Kaʿbah. From this, we know that the matter is broad: if we see someone praying with a slight deviation from being directly aligned with the qiblah, this does not harm, because he is facing its direction, and that is his obligation.

The direction of the qiblah for those north of the Kaʿbah is anywhere between east and west; for those east of the Kaʿbah, it is anywhere between north and south; for those west of it, it is likewise anywhere between north and south; and for those south of the Kaʿbah, it is anywhere between east and west. Thus, there are four directions, and this is what is indicated by the hadith of Abu Ayyub.

Know that the nearer you are to the Kaʿbah, the narrower the acceptable direction becomes. Once you are beneath the wall of the Kaʿbah, the direction extends only to the width of your body. That is, if you deviate from the Kaʿbah by even the slightest amount, whether to your left or right, your prayer is invalid.