Section
Facing the qiblah is a condition for the prayer of anyone who is able, except in extreme fear and in supererogatory prayers while travelling. A traveller may perform voluntary prayers while mounted or walking, and—according to the predominant view—the length of the journey is not a prerequisite. If a rider can face the qiblah at the opening takbīr and can complete his bowing and prostration in that direction, he must do so. If not, then the sounder opinion is that, whenever facing the qiblah is easy, it is obligatory; otherwise it is waived, and the requirement is confined to the takbīr al-iḥrām (opening declaration of sanctity). One view adds that it is also required for the closing salām. The rider may not divert from his route except toward the qiblah, and for bowing and prostration he merely gestures, making the prostration lower than the bowing.

The stronger position is that someone on foot performs full bowing and prostration, faces the qiblah in those postures and at the opening takbīr, and walks only during the standing portions and the tashahhud. Should a person perform an obligatory prayer on a mount while facing the qiblah and completing the bowing and prostration with the animal standing still, the prayer is valid; if the animal is moving, it is not.

Whoever prays inside the Kaʿbah while facing one of its walls, or its door whether closed or open—provided the threshold is raised at least two-thirds of a cubit—or on its roof while facing any of the structure just mentioned, his prayer is valid.

Anyone capable of determining the qiblah must not rely on taqlīd (blind following) or mere conjecture. If he cannot determine it himself, he may rely on the statement of a trustworthy person who speaks from knowledge. Should such a person be absent, and independent reasoning (ijtihād) is possible, taqlīd is forbidden. If he remains perplexed, the sounder view is that he does not imitate; he prays as he is and must later make up the prayer.

According to the correct position, a fresh ijtihād is required for every prayer that becomes due. Someone unable to engage in ijtihād or to learn its proofs—such as a blind person who cannot discern the signs—may follow a trustworthy, knowledgeable individual; but if he is able to learn, the sounder opinion is that learning is obligatory and taqlīd is unlawful.

Whoever prays on the basis of ijtihād and then becomes certain he was mistaken must, on the sounder view, repeat the prayer. If certainty of error arises during the prayer, he must restart it. If his ijtihād changes afterwards, he follows the second conclusion and no make-up is required, even if he had prayed four rakʿahs facing four different directions on the basis of successive efforts; no repetition is required.