only that portion of it which lies directly in front of him, while the greater part of the structure necessarily remains to his right and left, beyond the direction he is actually facing. What, then, is the difference between this and praying inside the Kaʿbah, when in both cases one is facing only part of it? For this very reason Ibn Ḥazm said:
“The followers of Mālik argued that anyone who prays inside the Kaʿbah has turned his back on part of it. Yet Allah, Exalted is He, has said, ‘Wherever you go out, turn your face toward the Sacred Mosque; and wherever you are, turn your faces toward it’ (Qur’an 2:150). If the Mālikīs’ claim constituted valid proof, it would be impermissible for anyone to pray in the Sacred Mosque itself, because the Qur’an explicitly names it as the qiblah, and everyone who prays within it must inevitably turn his back on some part of it. The unsoundness of their position is therefore evident. Furthermore, everyone who prays toward the Sacred Mosque or toward the Kaʿbah must inevitably leave part of it to his right and part to his left, and the scholars agree unanimously that there is no practical difference between turning one’s back to the qiblah in prayer and having it on one’s right or left. It is thus clear that Allah, Exalted is He, has never required us to observe anything beyond this: we are only enjoined to direct our faces toward whatever segment of the Kaʿbah’s wall—or of the mosque wall aligned with the Kaʿbah—happens to confront us, wherever we may be.”
As for the Shaykh’s remark, “There must be some benefit in these words,” that is certainly true. Yet nothing outwardly apparent in the wording supports what Shaykh al-Islām understood—namely, a distinction between voluntary and obligatory prayers with respect to orientation. Perhaps for this reason none of the commentators adopted his view. In explaining the Prophet’s statement ﷺ, “This is the qiblah,” al-Ḥāfiẓ mentioned four scholarly interpretations, none of which corresponds to the view advanced by the Shaykh, as will be discussed later.