those extending beyond its width would be praying toward something other than the Kaaba. The row behind it is longer, and so on. Thus, when the rows are beneath the mosque’s covered galleries, they curve sufficiently for the worshippers to face the Kaaba: they are praying toward it and in its direction as well. When people are far from it, they pray in its direction and are also praying toward it. Even if a row extends beyond the width of the Kaaba, their prayer is valid by the agreement of the Muslims, even when the row is straight, provided they cannot see it.
It is evident that, if one were to walk straight ahead toward it from these rows, the portion extending beyond its width would lie outside its alignment. Whoever imagines that a worshipper must pray in such a position that, were he to walk straight ahead, he would reach the Kaaba itself has therefore erred. Whoever interprets the obligation to pray toward the Kaaba itself in this way and makes this obligatory has erred. Even if a jurist exercising independent judgment has held this view, it is erroneous and contrary to the explicit texts of the Quran and Sunnah and the consensus of the early generations—indeed, the consensus of the Muslim community. For the community agrees that the prayer of a long row extending many times beyond the width of the Kaaba is valid, even if the row is straight, without any bend or curvature.
If it is objected:
At a distance, bending and curving are not needed as they are at close range. Similarly, when people face the crescent moon, the sun, or a mountain, they face it even though they are numerous and scattered, whereas if it were close, they could not face it