Aslam

Praise be to Allah.If there is a congregation praying, and during their prayer they are informed about the

right direction of qiblah, they should all turn towards the correct direction. The same is

also true for someone praying individually. Whatever part of their prayer has been

performed (before changing direction) will be correct. The evidence for this a narration

by Imam Muslim from Anas (may Allah be please with him), that:

While the Prophet

(peace be upon him) was praying towards

Bayt-al-Maqdis (Jerusalem), the verse was revealed to him (translation of

meaning):

Verily! We have seen the turning of your face towards

the heaven. Surely, We shall turn you to a qiblah that

shall please you, so turn your face in the direction of

Al-Masjid Al-Haram.

(Al-Baqarah, 2:144).

A man from Bani Salamah was passing by and found

them (i.e., the people of Bani Salamah) in the state of

ruku‘ in the Fajr prayer in the second rak‘ah. He

shouted to them: Indeed the qiblah has been changed.

So, turn to the qiblah as they (i.e., the Prophet

and his Companions) have.

(Sahih Musim, No. 527)

If some of the people were informed and the others were not, then the one to whom it

was made clear should turn to the direction he believes to be the correct direction of

qiblah. Now if all of these people (who were informed or not) were originally praying

together in the same direction, and some of them turned towards right and some

towards left, it is correct for some to follow others. But the scholars have a difference

of opinion about some people following others in the situation where there was

complete disagreement (among the praying people) about the direction of the qiblah. If

there was someone among them who was completely ignorant about the direction, he

should follow the one who is more aware amongst them of the direction of the qiblah.1

For the one who was uninformed about the direction f the qiblah, must ask someone if

he can, or else he should make ijtihad (make a judgment based on the best of his ability

with the information available) if he is able to, otherwise he must follow someone who is

reliable. If he cannot find one, then he should do his best in obedience to Allah and

complete his prayer, and his prayer is correct. This sometimes happens to a number of

those who travel to the lands of disbelievers and find no Muslim around them to inform

them of the correct direction of qiblah.

If one was capable of finding out the direction of the qiblah, but was neglectful and

prayed without making all possible efforts, he should repeat his prayer because he was

careless.2

1 Al-Mughni, 1/473.

2Al-Mughni, 1/490