I could never imagine that the verses about the qibla (direction of the
Salat prayer) would become alive in our time. The Submitters who accepted
the message brought by Prophet Muhammad were tested by "qibla" and some of
them failed. Interestingly, our community has been tested recently with the
same test and many has failed. It is a wonder why people fail the same test
twice even they have full warning in advance.

Quran informs us that Muhammad, like all other Meccan mushriks, was turning
his face to Ka'ba, the Sacred Masjid built by Abraham in Mecca. He was
simply following the tradition. When he and his supporters were oppressed
and tortured, they immigrated to Medina, a nearby city dwelled by Ehl-il
Kitab (People of The Book: Nazarenes and Jews). Muslims and People of the
Book formed a city-state under the leadership of Muhammad. They lived in
accordance to the historical Medina Constitution which was accepted after
consultation and consent of minorities. The city-state of Medina, in
today's terminology, was an open society governed by the principles of
republicanism and federal secularism. Muslims and the People of the Book
established alliance against gentiles (ummies), their aggressive neighbors.
They defended the city against several attacks orchestrated by the leaders
of Meccan theocratic oligarchy. They even had to dig drenches around the
city to defend themselves against the coalition of mushrik tribes of
Arabia. This experience created solidarity and a sense of community between
Muslims and their allies, People of the Book.

Because of this political alliance and social proximity, Muhammad decided
to change the direction of the prayer after consulting his supporters.
There was no revelation besides the Quran that advised such a change as it
is claimed by hadith literature. It was entirely a personal or community
decision that was the product of changed circumstances and mass psychology.
By changing their Qibla from Sacred Masjid (Ka'ba) to Jerusalem, Muslims
declared their independence from Meccan oppressive regime and its allies.
Monotheists were not a part of mushrik tribes of Arabia anymore. They were
a new community with a new identity.

Soon the condition changed. The mushrik coalition collapsed and the
political power of monotheists increased dramatically (13:41). Mecca, the
hometown of many Muslims was getting ready to a peaceful surrender (48:27).
The nostalgia in the heart of Muhammad and many believers were increasing.
Muhammad had no more reason to insist on turning to Jerusalem. He was
feeling a powerful urge to change the qibla back to the Sacred Masjid
(2:144). Soon, for the first time he received a revelation regarding the
qibla; God revealed Muhammad to turn back to the original qibla, that is
the Sacred Masjid (2:144, 149, 150). Thus, the previous qibla (the Sacred
Masjid, not Jerusalem) became a test to distinguish the hypocrites from
those who follow the messenger, that is, his message. Hadith books
misinterpret verse 2:142-3 and claim that the test was about changing qibla
from the Sacred Masjid to Jerusalem. This claim has no Quranic basis. This
misinterpretation perhaps was fabricated to create binding "revelations"
that do not exist in the Quran. The followers of Hadith and Sunna abuses
this misinterpretation to support the necessity of following other sources
besides the Quran. Sure, there were revelations to Prophet Muhammad that
was not part of the Quran (see 66:3), but they were personal; they were not
intended to bind others. Claiming that God tested the faith of believers by
a revelation that does not exist in the Quran is entirely wrong, since the
Quran was the only message delivered by Muhammad (6:19, 38, 114-115).

Indeed, verse 2:145 is a refutation to the traditional understanding. If
the test was about changing the direction from Ka'ba (the Sacred Masjid) to
Jerusalem, then the problem of those who failed the test would be their
conformity with Meccan Arabs.  However, the problem was the opposite: their
conformity with the People of the Book in Medina. They did not want to
damage their relationship by turning back to their original qibla. Their
alliance and personal relationship with Christians and Jews had created a
psychological obstacle against such a change. But, God the Omnipotent had a
different plan (2:148-150). Those who became disoriented after the
knowledge had come to them were severely criticized in verse 2:145.

The Perpetual Test

When some people questioned our direction for prayers in the Masjid Tucson,
the members of our community reacted differently. Those of us who were
making fun of Muhammedans for disputing over the first day of Ramadan (the
month of fasting) started disputing over a matter of similar simplicity.
Finding the direction of Ka'ba was no more difficult than finding the first
day of the crescent. Some members of our community who were comfortably
asking astronomers when to start fasting developed allergy against the
astronomers and experts.

After reading several articles written by experts and after talking with
astronomers and those who are experts in Global Positioning Systems, it
became evident that the direction of Ka'ba from Tucson was North-East.
There is clear consensus among scientists and experts. Their argument is
very clear and convincing for those who have open minds. Despite the
scientific fact, many in our community, inspired by the flat map of
Mercator's Projection, continued turning their face to a wrong direction.

This issue was ignored for months. Finally, in a Quranic study, we
discussed the issue. Those of us who changed the qibla based on the
knowledge we have acquired, talked in unity. We said that facing something
means facing the shortest line between you and the object. The shortest
line on the GLOBE surely is the shortest curve. You might connect yourself
and the object of your direction with many imaginary lines, but the only
different ones are the shortest and longest ones. If you face the longest
connecting line you will be turning your back, but if you face the shortest
one you will be facing it. Thus, the shorterst curve connecting Tucson to
Mecca shows the North-East direction.

In fact, those who insist on turning to East or South-East also have
employed the same "shortest line" principle, but on a FLAT EARTH.
Connecting your location with Mecca with the shortest line on a MERCATOR'S
FLAT MAP does not coincide with the reality of GOD'S ROUND PLANET.

Those who were insisting on turning their face to the wrong direction had
many different reasons. The five different reasons that were cited in one
meeting were:

1. "I turn to East, because turning to North-East is too complicated. I do
not understand their argument." This person, while acknowledging her
ignorance on the subject, neither read the articles on the subject nor
asked any questions to clarify the issue. She arrogantly insisted on the
wrong qibla claiming that it was easier from the correct qibla. She simply
chose a distorted flat map to the globe.

2. "I follow the Quran alone. There are only 'East' and 'West' in the
Quran. So, I turn to East. There is no a direction called North-East." This
person knowingly abused the verses of the Quran to justify the wrong qibla.
She knew that there were plural forms of East and West in the Quran (7:137;
37:5; 70:40). She also knew that every direction could be defined in terms
of only East and West. She could not answer how could people in Medina (a
city North of Mecca) face Ka'ba according to her theory, but she insisted
on turning to the wrong direction.

3.  "I turn to East, for a spiritual reason." When we questioned what was
the spiritual reason, that person acknowledged that it was the practice of
the "Messenger of the Covenant." She knew that it was called Sunna and she
was not ready to accept the fact that she has replaced the old Sunna with a
newer version. When she was warned of creating another authority besides
God's word, she tried to defend her position by suggesting digging a tunnel
between Tucson and Mecca. When we challenged her by asking whether she
would correct her direction if the tunnel she suggest showed the
North-East, she could not answer. This incredible conversation sounded like
a miraculous fulfillment of verse 6:35 that mentions a bizarre argument
voiced by mushriks .

4.  "I turn to North-East when I pray at home, but for the sake of unity I
turn to East when I pray at Masjid." This person, ironically, was the same
person who gave a khutba warning us against peer pressure just a week
before. He was turning to the wrong direction to preserve the unity! When
we invited an astronomer to the Masjid to demonstrate the direction of
Mecca on the GLOBE and to answer the questions, none of those who turn to
the wrong direction asked a question nor challenged the accuracy of the
demonstration. This visual demonstration, although took less than five
minutes, was protested by this person and his ilk. They claimed that their
Quranic study was interrupted by that "disbeliever" astronomer. Without
knowing our guest, they insulted him and told him to get out of the Masjid.
The hypocrisy of using the Quranic study as an excuse to avoid and suppress
the truth was evident in the fact that the same people were not hesitating
in spending dozens of minutes on personal stories or jokes during the
Quranic studies. The direction of the prayer somehow became unQuranic after
the truth of the matter became evident.

5.  "Well, we follow the walls. The walls of the Masjid are lined up
East-West, so we turn our face to East." This person knew very well that
the correct qibla was not towards East. But, he chose to insist on the
wrong tradition by pointing at walls. Ironically, he did not want to see
the diabolic walls engulfing his faith and intellect.

There were others who tried to save their tradition by playing with
linguistics. They claimed that if you turn to North-East, the qibla changes
to South-East after passing the North Pole. This people are so ignorant of
astronomy that they think the imaginary lines such as Parallels, or Poles
that resulted from the rotation of the Earth or its magnetic force would
have influence on the direction of locations on the Earth. If they could
simply manage to imagine themselves on the North Pole, they would find out
that they could not face each other according to their silly theory.

And there were others who did not express any "reason" at all. Perhaps they
just did not care. They did not try to justify the wrong direction by
flimsy excuses and silly reasons. The comfort of following the majority and
their "infallible" messenger was sufficient for them.

The Real Reason

Idolization of messengers and abuse of their words and practices is not
new. The "test" we have experienced in Masjid Tucson proved beyond doubt
that our community was no better than previous generations. If you hear
people claiming that they follow the Quran alone and self-righteously imply
that they are "elite of the elite," do not put your full trust in them. You
might ask them what they mean by the Quran; their Quran might be a
different Quran. Check whether they have replaced the Arabic hadiths with
the English ones. Ask them whether they have replaced hadith books with
subtitles, footnotes, appendices, video and audio tapes. Listen to them
whether they commemorate the "Messenger of the Covenant" instead of
Muhammad or Jesus. See whether they employ a linguistic trick to replace
"Sunnah" of the previous messenger with "spiritual reasons."

Finally, watch them while they are praying. If they are disoriented, be
suspicious of their claim. If they have to a wrong direction by error, no
problem. God forgives them. But, if they have intentionally chosen teh
wrong direction despite the clear evidence, then they are in deep trouble.
They might tell you many different reasons, but the real reason of their
disorientation is prophesied by the Quran (2:143). Ironically, deep in
their heart they know the real reason. They are most likely those who
pretend to be monotheists (6:23). They will be deserted by their idols in
the hereafter as they have deserted the Quran after receiving its message
(25:30).

There is no difference between those Muhammedan's who get disoriented
time-wise every Ramadan because of not accepting God's precise calculation
in the rotation of heavenly bodies (55:5) and between Khalifites who get
disoriented space-wise because of preferring a flat earth instead of a
round one (79:30; 39:5). What a regress; both in religion and science!

"Wherever you go, you shall turn your face (during  Salat) towards the
Sacred Mosque; wherever you might be, you shall turn your faces towards it.
Now the people have no argument against you, except the transgressors among
them. Do not pay attention to them; you shall devote your attention to Me.
I will then perfect My blessings upon you, that you may be guided."
(2:150)