someone said:

I seek Allah’s forgiveness for sins beyond my count—
The Lord of all servants: to Him are directed the face and the deed.

Four expressions are used here: submitting one’s face and setting one’s face, as in His words, Most High:

“Set your faces toward Him at every place of prayer.”

And His words:

“So set your face toward the religion, devoted to Allah alone—the natural disposition upon which Allah created mankind.”

And turning one’s face, as in the words of Abraham, Allah’s close friend:

“Indeed, I have turned my face toward Him who created the heavens and the earth, devoted to Him alone, and I am not one of the polytheists.”

Likewise, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would say in the opening supplication of his prayer:

“I have turned my face toward Him who created the heavens and the earth, devoted to Him alone, and I am not one of the polytheists.”

In the two Sahīh collections, al-Barā’ ibn ‘Āzib reports that among the words the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would say upon retiring to bed were:

“O Allah, I have submitted myself to You and turned my face toward You.”

Thus, “face” encompasses the one who turns and that toward which he turns; it also encompasses the direction itself. For example, one asks, “Which way do you intend to go?” meaning, “What direction and destination are you heading toward?” This is because the two are inseparable: wherever a person turns, his face turns, and the orientation of his face necessarily entails his own orientation. This applies both inwardly and outwardly. These, then, are four aspects.

The inward is the foundation, while the outward is its completion and visible sign. When a person’s heart turns toward something, his physical face follows it. Thus, when a servant directs his purpose, desire, and attention toward Allah, his will and intention are sound.