—and that is a fine and elegant possibility.

As for the interpretation attributed to al-Khattābī, Shaykh ʿAlī al-Qārī conveys it in al-Mirqāh, quoting al-Ṭayyibī—who doubtless took it from al-Khattābī—and then critiques it, saying:

“I say: This would hold, in general, only if the Prophet had been leading an obligatory congregational prayer.”

This, as you can see, is a weighty objection. Hence only the first explanation and the option proposed by al-Nawawī remain tenable, and that is the construction that most readily comes to mind when one reads the hadith. Allah knows best.

Several scholars have reported the consensus that anyone who can actually see the Kaʿbah must face its very structure. In Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī we read:

“There is no disagreement among the scholars that the Kaʿbah is the qiblah for every land. They are unanimously agreed that anyone who sees it with his own eyes is obliged to face it; if, while seeing it and knowing its direction, he neglects to do so, his prayer is invalid and he must repeat every prayer he performed in that state. Abū ʿUmar related this.”

Ibn Ḥazm said:

“There is no difference of opinion within the ummah that should a person be in Mecca and capable of facing the Kaʿbah in his prayer, yet deliberately turn his face away from it toward some other part of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, whether inside or outside, his prayer is invalid (1); and if he deemed such an act permissible, he would be a disbeliever. As for the sick, the ignorant, the frightened, and the coerced, Allah the Exalted says: ‘Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity’ (Qur’an 2:286), and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘When I command you to do something, carry it out to the extent of your ability.’”