Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Baqarah Verse 145

Mufti Taqi Usmani

Even if you bring every sign to those who have been given the Book, they would not follow your Qiblah, and you are not to follow their Qiblah, nor are they to follow each other’s Qiblah. If you were to follow their desires despite the knowledge that has come to you, you will then certainly be among the unjust.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Even if you were to bring every proof to the People of the Book, they would not accept your direction ˹of prayer˺, nor would you accept theirs; nor would any of them accept the direction ˹of prayer˺ of another. And if you were to follow their desires after ˹all˺ the knowledge that has come to you, then you would certainly be one of the wrongdoers.

Ruwwad Translation Center

Even if you were to bring every proof to those who have been given the Scripture, they would not follow your prayer direction, nor would you follow their prayer direction; nor would any of them follow the prayer direction of the other. However, if you were to follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to you, then you would surely be among the wrongdoers.

A. J. Arberry

Yet if thou shouldst bring to those that have been given the Book every sign, they will not follow thy direction; thou art not a follower of their direction, neither are they followers of one another's direction. If thou followest their caprices, after the knowledge that has come to thee, then thou wilt surely be among the evildoers

Abdul Haleem

Yet even if you brought every proof to those who were given the Scripture, they would not follow your prayer direction, nor will you follow theirs, nor indeed will any of them follow one another’s direction. If you [Prophet] were to follow their desires, after the knowledge brought to you, you would be doing wrong.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And shouldst thou bring unto those who are vouchsafed the Book every sign, they would not follow thy Qiblah, neither art thou to be a follower of their Qiblah; nor doth one part of them follow the Qiblah of the other. And shouldst thou follow their desires, after that which hath come unto thee of the knowledge, then verily thou wilt become one of the wrong-doers.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Even if thou wert to bring to the people of the Book all the Signs (together), they would not follow Thy Qibla; nor art thou going to follow their Qibla; nor indeed will they follow each other's Qibla. If thou after the knowledge hath reached thee, Wert to follow their (vain) desires,-then wert thou Indeed (clearly) in the wrong.

Abul Ala Maududi

Even though you may show every kind of sign to the people of the Book, they will not adopt your giblah, nor are you going to adopt their giblah; nor will any of them adopt the giblah of the other; therefore if, after the knowledge you have received, you follow their desires, you will certainly be counted among the transgressors.

Ahmed Ali

Even though you bring all the proof to the people of the Book they will not face the direction you turn to, nor you theirs, nor will they follow each other's direction. And if you follow their whims after all the knowledge that has reached you, then surely you will be among transgressors.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And even if you were to bring all the signs to the People given the Book(s), they would not follow your qiblah; nor should you follow their qiblah; nor do they follow each others qiblah; and were you (the followers of this Prophet) to follow their desires after having received knowledge, you would then surely be unjust.

Ali Quli Qarai

Even if you bring those who were given the Book every [kind of] sign, they will not follow your qiblah. Nor shall you follow their qiblah, nor will any of them follow the qiblah of the other. And if you follow their desires, after the knowledge that has come to you, you will be one of the wrongdoers.

Ali Ünal

Even if (O Messenger) you were to bring to those who were given the Book (before) all kinds of signs and evidences, they would not follow your direction (qiblah). Indeed you are not a follower of their direction, nor are they followers of one another’s direction. (Theirs is an attitude arising from their fancies and desires, not from knowledge.) Were you to follow their fancies and desires after the knowledge that has come to you, then you would surely be among the wrongdoers (those who wrong themselves because of the errors they have done).

Amatul Rahman Omar

And even if you should bring to those (who went astray and) who have been given the Scripture (before you) all kinds of signs together, they would not follow your Qiblah, nor would you be the follower of their Qiblah, nor would some of them be the follower of one another´s Qiblah. And if you (O reader!) should follow their low desires after (all) this knowledge that has come to you, then indeed, you would be of the unjust.

English Literal

And if (E) you gave/came (to) those who were given The Book with each/every verse/evidence they would not (have) followed your (prayer) direction, and you are not with following their (prayer) direction, and some of them (are) not with following the (prayer) direction (of) some, and if you followed their self attractions for desires from after what came to you from the knowledge , that you are then from (E) the unjust/oppressors.

Faridul Haque

And even if you were to bring all the signs to the People given the Book(s), they would not follow your qiblah; nor should you follow their qiblah; nor do they follow each others qiblah; and were you (the followers of this Prophet) to follow their desires after having received knowledge, you would then surely be unjust.

Hamid S. Aziz

And even if you should bring to the People of the Book every sign, they would not follow your Qiblah (direction, focus, goal); and you are not to follow their Qiblah; nor do some of them follow the Qiblah of the others: and if you follow their lusts (vain desires, prejudices, fantasies) after the knowledge that has come to you, then are you of the wrongdoers.

Hilali & Khan

And even if you were to bring to the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) all the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), they would not follow your Qiblah (prayer direction), nor are you going to follow their Qiblah (prayer direction). And they will not follow each other's Qiblah (prayer direction). Verily, if you follow their desires after that which you have received of knowledge (from Allah), then indeed you will be one of the Zalimun (polytheists, wrong-doers, etc.).

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And even if thou shouldst bring to those who have been given the Book every sign they would not follow thy qiblah, nor canst thou be a follower of their qiblah, neither are they the followers of each other´s qiblah. And if thou shouldst follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to thee, then thou wouldst indeed be of the wrongdoers.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And even if you bring to those who have been given the Book every sign they would not follow your qiblah, nor can you be a follower of their qiblah, neither are they the followers of each other's qiblah, and if you follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to you, then you shall most surely be among the unjust.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And even if thou broughtest unto those who have received the Scripture all kinds of portents, they would not follow thy qiblah, nor canst thou be a follower of their qiblah; nor are some of them followers of the qiblah of others. And if thou shouldst follow their desires after the knowledge which hath come unto thee, then surely wert thou of the evil-doers.

Muhammad Sarwar

Even if you were to bring all kinds of authoritative proof to the People of the Book, they still would not accept your qibla, nor would you accept theirs, nor would they accept each others. Were you to follow their desires after all the knowledge that has come to you, you would certainly have been one of the unjust.

Qaribullah & Darwish

But even if you brought those to whom the Book had been given every proof, they would not accept your direction, nor would you accept theirs; nor would any of them accept the direction of the other. If after all the knowledge you have been given you yield to their desires, then you will surely be among the harmdoers.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And even if you were to bring to the People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) all the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), they would not follow your Qiblah (prayer direction), nor are you going to follow their Qiblah. And they will not follow each other's Qiblah. Verily, if you follow their desires after that which you have received of knowledge (from Allah), then indeed you will be one of the wrongdoers.

Wahiduddin Khan

But even if you should produce every kind of sign for those who have been given the Book, they would never accept your prayer direction, nor would you accept their prayer direction: nor would any of them accept one another's direction. If, after all the knowledge you have been given, you yield to their desires, then, you shall surely become a transgressor.

Talal Itani

Even if you were to bring to those who were given the Book every proof, they would not follow your direction, nor are you to follow their direction, nor do they follow the direction of one another. And if you were to follow their desires, after the knowledge that has come to you, you would be in that case one of the wrongdoers.

Tafsir jalalayn

Yet if (wa-la-in; the lm is for oaths) you should bring to those who have been given the Scripture every sign, about your truthfulness in the matter of the direction of prayer, they will not follow your direction, out of obduracy, and you are not a follower of their direction (this is a categorical negation of his [the Prophet's] desire that they become Muslims and of their desire that he return to their direction of prayer; neither are they, the Jews and the Christians, followers of one another's direction. If you were to follow their whims, the ones to which they summon you, after the knowledge, the revelation, that has come to you, then you, if, hypothetically, you were to follow them, will surely be among the evildoers.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

The Stubbornness and Disbelief of the Jews

Allah says;

وَلَيِنْ أَتَيْتَ الَّذِينَ أُوْتُواْ الْكِتَابَ بِكُلِّ ايَةٍ مَّا تَبِعُواْ قِبْلَتَكَ

And even if you were to bring to the People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) all the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), they would not follow your Qiblah (prayer direction),

Allah describes the Jews' disbelief, stubbornness and defiance of what they know of the truth of Allah's Messenger, that if the Prophet brought forward every proof to the truth of what he was sent with, they will never obey him or abandon following their desires.

In another instance, Allah said;

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِمْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ لَا يُوْمِنُونَ

وَلَوْ جَأءَتْهُمْ كُلُّ ءايَةٍ حَتَّى يَرَوُاْ الْعَذَابَ الاٌّلِيمَ

Truly, those, against whom the Word (wrath) of your Lord has been justified, will not believe. Even if every sign should come to them, until they see the painful torment. (10;96-97)

This is why Allah said here;
وَلَيِنْ أَتَيْتَ الَّذِينَ أُوْتُواْ الْكِتَابَ بِكُلِّ ايَةٍ مَّا تَبِعُواْ قِبْلَتَكَ
(And even if you were to bring to the People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) all the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), they would not follow your Qiblah (prayer direction)).

Allah's statement;

وَمَا أَنتَ بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَتَهُمْ
nor are you going to follow their Qiblah,

indicates the vigor with which Allah's Messenger implements what Allah commanded him.

Allah's statement also indicates that as much as the Jews adhere to their opinions and desires, the Prophet adheres by Allah's commands, obeying Him and following what pleases Him, and that he would never adhere to their desires in any case.

Hence, praying towards Bayt Al-Maqdis was not because it was the Qiblah of the Jews, but because Allah had commanded it.

وَمَا بَعْضُهُم بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَةَ بَعْضٍ

And they will not follow each other's Qiblah.

Allah then warns those who knowingly defy the truth, because the proof against those who know is stronger than against other people. This is why Allah said to His Messenger and his Ummah;

وَلَيِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءهُم مِّن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ إِنَّكَ إِذَاً لَّمِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ



Verily, if you follow their desires after that which you have received of knowledge (from Allah), then indeed you will be one of the wrongdoers