Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Baqarah Verse 115

Mufti Taqi Usmani

To Allah belongs the East and the West. So, whichever way you turn, there is the Face of Allah. Indeed, Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

To Allah belong the east and the west, so wherever you turn you are facing ˹towards˺ Allah.[[ lit., wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah.]] Surely Allah is All-Encompassing,[[ His mercy and knowledge covers all. ]] All-Knowing.

Ruwwad Translation Center

To Allah belong the east and the west; wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah. For Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing.

A. J. Arberry

To God belong the East and the West; whithersoever you turn, there is the Face of God; God is All-embracing, All-knowing.

Abdul Haleem

The East and the West belong to God: wherever you turn, there is His Face. God is all pervading and all knowing.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And unto Allah belongeth the east and the west; so withersoever you turn there is the countenance of Allah: verily Allah is pervading, Knowing.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

To Allah belong the east and the West; Whithersoever ye turn, there is the presence of Allah. For Allah is all-Pervading, all-Knowing.

Abul Ala Maududi

The East and the West, all belong to Allah: you will face Allah in whichsoever direction you turn your face: Allah is All-Embracing and All-Knowing.

Ahmed Ali

To God belong the East and the West. Wherever you turn the glory of God is everywhere: All-pervading is He and all-knowing.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And the East and the West, all belong to Allah – so whichever direction you face, there is Allah’s Entity (Allah’s Mercy is directed towards you); indeed Allah is the All Capable, (His powers and reach are limitless), the All Knowing.

Ali Quli Qarai

To Allah belong the east and the west: so whichever way you turn, there is the face of Allah! Allah is indeed all-bounteous, all-knowing.

Ali Ünal

(They attempt to exploit the issue of qiblah – the direction of Prayer – as a pretext to bar Muslims from places of worship and to prevent God’s Name being mentioned and invoked in them.) To God belong the East and the West (and therefore the whole earth with its east and west: wherever you are, you can turn to Him in the Prayer). Then, in whatever direction you turn, there is the "Face" of God. God is All-Embracing (with His mercy), All-Knowing.

Amatul Rahman Omar

And to Allâh belongs the east and the west; so whichsoever way you may turn (you will find) there is Allâh´s attention. Surely, Allâh is All-Pervading, All-Knowing.

English Literal

And to God the sunrise/east and the sunset/west, so wherever you turn, so there (is) God`s face/direction, that God is rich/extended , knowledgeable.

Faridul Haque

And the East and the West, all belong to Allah - so whichever direction you face, there is Allah’s Entity (Allah’s Mercy is directed towards you); indeed Allah is the All Capable, (His powers and reach are limitless), the All Knowing.

Hamid S. Aziz

To Allah belongs the East and the West, and wherever you turn there is Allah´s face (presence); for verily, Allah is All-pervading and All-Knowing.

Hilali & Khan

And to Allah belong the east and the west, so wherever you turn yourselves or your faces there is the Face of Allah (and He is High above, over His Throne). Surely! Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knowing.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And Allah´s is the East and the West, so whither you turn thither is Allah´s purpose. Surely Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And Allah's is the East and the West, therefore, whither you turn, thither is Allah's purpose; surely Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

Unto Allah belong the East and the West, and whithersoever ye turn, there is Allah's Countenance. Lo! Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing.

Muhammad Sarwar

The East and the West belong to God. Wherever you turn, you are always in the presence of God. God is Munificent and Omniscient.

Qaribullah & Darwish

To Allah belong the east and the west. Whichever way you turn, there is the Face of Allah. He is the Embracer, the Knower.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And to Allah belong the east and the west, so wherever you turn (yourselves or your faces) there is the Face of Allah (and He is High above, over His Throne). Surely, Allah is Sufficient (for His creatures' needs), Knowing.

Wahiduddin Khan

The East and the West belong to God. Whichever way you turn, there is the Face of God. God is all pervading and all knowing.

Talal Itani

To God belong the East and the West. Whichever way you turn, there is God’s presence. God is Omnipresent and Omniscient.

Tafsir jalalayn

The following was revealed either when the Jews criticised the change of the direction of prayer [qibla], or concerning the supererogatory prayers on animal-back during journeys, which one may pray in any direction; To God belong the East and the West, that is, the entire earth, because these two [directions] represent both sides of it [the earth]; whithersoever you turn, your faces in prayer by His command, there is the Face of God, the direction of prayer with which He is pleased. Lo! God is Embracing, His bounty embracing all things, Knowing, how to manage His creation.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Facing the Qiblah (Direction of the Prayer)

Allah said,

وَلِلّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّواْ فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللّهِ

And to Allah belong the east and the west, so wherever you turn (yourselves or your faces) there is the Face of Allah (and He is High above, over His Throne). Surely, Allah is Sufficient (for His creatures' needs), Knowing.

This ruling brought comfort to the Messenger of Allah and his Companions, who were driven out of Makkah and had to depart from the area of Al-Masjid Al-Haram.

In Makkah, the Messenger of Allah used to pray in the direction of Bayt Al-Maqdis, while the Ka`bah was between him and the Qiblah. When the Messenger migrated to Al-Madinah, he faced Bayt Al-Maqdis for sixteen or seventeen months, and then Allah directed him to face Al-Ka`bah in prayer. This is why Allah said,
وَلِلّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّواْ فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللّهِ
(And to Allah belong the east and the west, so wherever you turn (yourselves or your faces) there is the Face of Allah (and He is High above, over His Throne)).

Ali bin Abi Talhah said that Ibn Abbas said,

"The first part of the Qur'an that was abrogated was about the Qiblah.

When the Messenger of Allah migrated to Al-Madinah, which was inhabited by the Jews, he was at first commanded to face Bayt Al-Maqdis. The Jews were happy, and the Messenger of Allah faced Bayt Al-Maqdis for some ten months. However, the Messenger of Allah liked to face the Qiblah of Ibrahim (Al-Ka`bah at Makkah), and he used to look to the sky and supplicate. So Allah revealed,
قَدْ نَرَى تَقَلُّبَ وَجْهِكَ فِي السَّمَاء
(Verily, We have seen the turning of your (Muhammad's) face towards the heaven) until,
فَوَلُّواْ وُجُوِهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُ
(turn your faces (in prayer) in that direction), (2;144).

The Jews were disturbed by this development and said, `What made them change the direction of the Qiblah that they used to face' Allah revealed,
قُل لِّلّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ
(Say (O Muhammad);"To Allah belong both, east and the west"), (2;142) and,
فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّواْ فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللّهِ
(So wherever you turn (yourselves or your faces) there is the Face of Allah (and He is High above, over His Throne))."

Ikrimah said that Ibn Abbas said,
فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّواْ فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللّهِ
(So wherever you turn (yourselves or your faces) there is the Face of Allah (and He is High above, over His Throne)) means,

"Allah's direction is wherever you face, east or west."

Mujahid said that,
فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّواْ فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللّهِ
(So wherever you turn (yourselves or your faces) there is the Face of Allah (and He is High above, over His Throne)) means,

"Wherever you may be, you have a Qiblah to face, that is, Al-Ka`bah."

However, it was said that;

Allah sent down this Ayah before the order to face the Ka`bah.

Ibn Jarir said,

"Others said that this Ayah was revealed to the Messenger of Allah permitting the one praying voluntary prayers to face wherever they wish in the east or west, while traveling, when in fear and when facing the enemy."

For instance,

Ibn Umar used to face whatever direction his animal was headed and proclaim that the Messenger of Allah did the same, explaining the Ayah,
فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّواْ فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللّهِ
(So wherever you turn (yourselves or your faces) there is the Face of Allah)."

That Hadith was also collected by Muslim, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i, Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Marduwyah, and its origin is in the Two Sahihs from Ibn Umar and Amr bin Rabi`ah without mentioning the Ayah.

In his Sahih, Al-Bukhari recorded that Nafi said that;

whenever Ibn Umar was asked about the prayer during times of fear, he used to describe it and would then say, "When the sense of fear is worse than that, pray while standing, or while riding, whether facing the Qiblah or not."

Nafi then said, "I think Ibn Umar mentioned that from the Prophet."

It was also said that;

the Ayah was revealed about those who are unable to find the correct direction of the Qiblah in the dark or due to cloudy skies and, thus, prayed in a direction other than the Qiblah by mistake.
The Qiblah for the People of Al-Madinah is what is between the East and the West

In his Tafsir of this Ayah (2;115), Al-Hafiz Ibn Marduwyah recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,

مَا بَيْنَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ قِبْلَةٌ لاِاَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ وَأَهْلِ الشَّامِ وَأَهْلِ الْعِرَاق

What is between the east and the west is the Qiblah for the people of Al-Madinah, Ash-Sham and Iraq.

At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah recorded this Hadith with the wording,

مَا بَيْنَ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ قِبْلَة

What is between the east and the west is a Qiblah.

Allah's statement

إِنَّ اللّهَ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ



Surely, Allah is Sufficient (for His creatures' needs), Knowing.

Ibn Jarir said,

"The meaning of Allah's statement is that Allah encompasses all His Creation by providing them with sufficient needs and by His generosity and favor.

His statement,
عَلِيمٌ
(Knowing) means, He is knowledgeable of their deeds and nothing escapes His watch, nor is He unaware of anything. Rather, His knowledge encompasses everything.