As for the transmitted evidence, it is the report of ʿĀmir ibn Rabīʿah, who said:
“We were traveling with the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—on a pitch-black night, and the qiblah was hidden from us. Each of us prayed in the direction he judged best, marking the spot where he stood. When dawn broke, we realized we had not faced the qiblah, so we asked the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He replied, ‘Your prayer is valid,’ and the verse was revealed:
‘To Allah belong the East and the West; wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah’
(Qur’an 2:115).”
If this ḥadīth is accepted, the verse remains operative and applies to anyone who discovers after praying that he had not faced the qiblah. The majority, however, hold that the verse has been abrogated by the Almighty’s words:
‘And from wherever you come forth, turn your face toward the Sacred Mosque’
(Qur’an 2:149).
Thus, whoever does not deem the first report sound draws an analogy between the spatial miqāt (direction) and the temporal miqāt (prayer time); but whoever upholds the report does not deem the prayer invalid.
Within this discussion lies a famous question: is it permissible to pray inside the Kaʿbah? The scholars have differed: some categorically forbid it, others categorically allow it, and yet others distinguish between supererogatory and obligatory prayers.
Their disagreement stems from two factors: the clash of transmitted reports on the matter and the uncertainty over whether someone who faces one of its interior walls can truly be called “one who has faced the House,” as is the case for someone who faces it from outside.
As for the reports, two authentic yet apparently conflicting ḥadīths have reached us.
- The ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAbbās:
“When the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—entered the House, he supplicated in every corner of it and did not pray until he came out. After stepping outside, he prayed two rakʿahs facing the Kaʿbah and said, ‘This is the qiblah.’”
- The ḥadīth of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar:
“The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—entered the Kaʿbah with Usāmah ibn Zayd, ʿUthmān ibn Ṭalḥah, and Bilāl ibn Rabāḥ. He closed the door behind him and remained inside. When he came out, I asked Bilāl what the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—had done. He replied, ‘He placed one pillar on his left, one on his right, and three pillars behind him, then he prayed.’”
Those who proceed by weighing the reports or positing abrogation say that prayer inside the Kaʿbah is absolutely forbidden if they give precedence to Ibn ʿAbbās’s report, and absolutely permitted if they give precedence to Ibn ʿUmar’s. Those who attempt reconciliation interpret Ibn ʿAbbās’s report as concerning obligatory prayer and Ibn ʿUmar’s as concerning supererogatory prayer. Reconciliation, however, is difficult, for the two rakʿahs the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—performed outside the Kaʿbah, after which he said, “This is the qiblah,” were themselves supererogatory.