and thus encompasses the world, what lies beyond it, and what is above it, for the servant faces all of this. Those who hold this view say: Allah has spoken here of a “Face,” not a “direction,” and the discussion concerns facing the qiblah in prayer. The verse therefore cannot be understood as conveying either meaning to the exclusion of the other. It has already been explained why it cannot refer solely to the direction of prayer. Likewise, it cannot refer solely to Allah’s attribute, because the purpose of the verse is to establish the permissibility of facing that direction in prayer; it must therefore convey this ruling.

This becomes clearer when we consider that the person praying intends only to turn toward his Lord. It was therefore fitting to explain to him that whichever direction he prays in, he is turning toward his Lord: no direction prevents him from turning toward his Lord. The verse thus fully conveys the intended meaning. Allah says:

“To Allah belong the east and the west.” [al-Baqarah 115]

He thus declares that everything belongs to Him and is His creation. Both innate human nature and revelation establish that the Lord is above His creation and encompasses it. This indicates that whoever faces any part of the east or west is turning toward his Lord, as is the case with anything else he faces. Allah is before his face, whichever direction he prays in, because He is above all of that and encompasses it all.

The third approach is to say: Rather, this verse does indicate the attribute