قَدْ نَرَى تَقَلُّبَ وَجْهِكَ فِي السَّمَاءِ فَلَنُوَلِّيَنَّكَ قِبْلَةً تَرْضَاهَا فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنْتُمْ فَوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُ وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ لَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿۱۴۴﴾ وَلَئِنْ أَتَيْتَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ بِكُلِّ آيَةٍ مَا تَبِعُوا قِبْلَتَكَ وَمَا أَنْتَ بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَتَهُمْ وَمَا بَعْضُهُمْ بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَةَ بَعْضٍ وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ إِنَّكَ إِذًا لَمِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ ﴿۱۴۵﴾
﴾144﴿ Qad naraa taqalluba wajhika fis samaaa'i fala nuwalliyannaka qiblatan tardaahaa; fawalli wajhaka shatral Masjidil haaraam; wa haisu maa kuntum fawalloo wujoohakum shatrah; wa innal lazeena ootul Kitaaba laya'lamoona annahul haqqu mir Rabbihim; wa mal laahu bighaafilin 'ammaa ya'maloon
﴾145﴿ Wa la'in ataital lazeena ootul kitaaba bikulli aayatim maa tabi'oo Qiblatak; wa maaa anta bitaabi'in Qiblatahum; wa maa ba'duhum bitaabi''in Qiblata ba'd; wa la'init taba'ta ahwaaa'ahum mim ba'di maa jaaa'aka minal 'ilmi innaka izal laminaz zaalimeen
﴾144﴿ Indeed, We see the turning of your face toward the sky, so We will surely turn you to a qiblah that you will be pleased with. So turn your face toward the Sacred Mosque. And wherever you are, turn your faces toward it. And indeed, those who were given the Book surely know that this change of qiblah is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do.
﴾145﴿ Even if you were to bring every kind of proof to those who were given the Book, they would not follow your qiblah, nor are you a follower of their qiblah, and neither are they followers of one another’s qiblah. And if you were to follow their desires after knowledge has come to you (from the Qur’an), then surely you would be among the wrongdoers.
[144] The Messenger of Allah (May Allah bless him and give him peace) used to await revelation and would look toward the sky, desiring that Allah would make the Ka‘bah the qiblah, since this qiblah was also the qiblah of all the previous prophets (peace be upon them), as mentioned in a hadith of Bukhari.
(Indeed, those who were given the Book...) — This is the third general reason for the change of the qiblah: this matter is known to the People of the Book, even though they do not accept it.
(We have certainly seen) — This is in the past tense.
(Toward the sky) — This means looking in the direction of the sky.
(Your face) — What is meant here is the whole body.
(The Sacred Mosque) — What is meant here is the Ka‘bah; mentioning the whole (the Sacred Mosque) while intending the part (the Ka‘bah). The mention of the Sacred Mosque indicates that what is obligatory is to face the direction of the Ka‘bah, not necessarily the exact building.
(Wherever you may be) — This generalizes to all places, whether one is traveling or at home.
[145] In the first sentence of this verse, the obstinacy of the People of the Book is mentioned, and though the word "qiblah" is used, what is meant is the religion. In the second sentence, the disassociation of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) is stated. In the third and fourth sentences, their internal disagreement is pointed out — that they have fabricated their qiblahs by themselves.
(And none of them follows the qiblah of the other) — The commentators have written that the qiblah of the Jews is Bayt al-Maqdis, and the qiblah of the Christians is the east, the place of the birth of ‘Isa (peace be upon him), and both of these qiblahs were invented by themselves.
(And if you were to follow...) — Al-Nasafi has said this is a warning to anyone who abandons clear evidence and instead follows personal desire (without proof).