and others. This is correct, but it is not an instance of reinterpretation, for according to these scholars, the apparent meaning of the word ‘face’ here is ‘direction.’ Allah Most High says:

‘For everyone there is a direction toward which he turns.’ [al-Baqarah 148]

He thus states that the servant turns toward that direction—that is, directs himself toward it, meaning that he faces it. People say, ‘Which way are you heading?’—meaning, ‘Which direction are you heading?’ They also say, ‘So-and-so headed this way,’ and ‘He came from this way,’ meaning a direction or quarter. Allah has said:

‘To Allah belong the east and the west.’ [al-Baqarah 115]

These are directions. He then says:

‘Wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah.’ [al-Baqarah 115]

That is, wherever you face. Here the verb wallā (‘to turn’) is intransitive, meaning ‘to turn toward’ or ‘to face,’ although it is also used transitively. The verse has been recited both as huwa muwallīhā (‘he turns toward it’) and as huwa muwallāhā (‘he is turned toward it’).