slaughterhouses resembling those of the Christians—that is, prayer niches. This prohibition applies when prayer niches are made to resemble those of the Christians. But if distinct prayer niches are made for Muslims, then there is no prohibition in that.

It is understood from his words that, if he finds non-Islamic prayer niches, he should not rely on them, because their construction cannot be trusted, just as their statements in matters of religion cannot be trusted. Otherwise, it might be said that the well-known practice among the non-Muslims of the People of the Book is that they face Jerusalem. Thus, if we find their prayer niches facing Jerusalem, while we are, for example, located somewhere between Jerusalem and the Ka‘bah, we would know that the qiblah lies in the opposite direction from their prayer niches. Yet we do not trust their prayer niches, for we fear that they may have altered or changed them. This is why the author qualified the matter by saying, “Or he finds Islamic prayer niches.”

In al-Rawd (2), he says: “For their agreement upon them, through the succession of eras, constitutes a consensus upon them. Therefore, it is not permissible to depart from them when one knows them to be those of the Muslims.”

The qiblah may be determined while travelling by the Pole Star

His statement, “The qiblah may be determined while travelling by the Pole Star”: this is the third means by which the qiblah may be determined: the Pole Star. It is a celestial indication; that is, an indication