Chapter 2: Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow), verses 148-152

Translation:

Each one has a goal towards which he turns. But wherever you be, emulate one another in good works. God will bring you all before Him. He has power over all things. Whichever way you depart, face towards the Sacred Mosque. This is surely the truth from your Lord. God is never heedless of what you do; whichever way you depart, face toward the Holy Mosque and wherever you are, face towards it, so that men will have no cause to reproach you, except the evil-doers among them. Have no fear of them; fear Me, so that I may perfect My favour to you and that you may be rightly guided. Indeed We have sent forth to you an apostle of your own people who will recite to you Our revelations and purify you of sin, who will instruct you in the Book and in wisdom and teach you that of which you had no knowledge. Remember Me, then, and I will remember you. Give thanks to Me and never deny Me.

Tafsir (Commentary):

When the House of God in Mecca was appointed as the qiblah, the People of the Book started discussing whether the east was God’s direction or the west. They saw the matter as one of direction alone, but there was more to it than that. The selection of the House of God as the qiblah was not merely the specification of a certain direction for prayer; it was a sign that the time had come for God to reveal His greatest favour to man. It had been decided a long time before, that, in answer to the prayer of Abraham and Ishmael (see 2:129), God would send a final Prophet to the world. The path to life everlasting was now being thrown open to all: God was consummating His favor to mankind. The bringing of religion to its final stage of perfection in Islam does not mean that previous religions were incomplete. They too were complete in themselves, but none of them was preserved in its original and authentic form. God had revealed true religion time and time again, but every time mankind rebelled against it and either distorted it or allowed it to fall into oblivion. Now it was revealed in its ultimate and indelible form. Divine religion had been allowed to deteriorate into a set of mythological tales; now it was incorporated into history in the form of solid facts. Up till then, no pattern of true religion had been preserved for posterity; now, in a permanent, dynamic and practicable form, it was placed before mankind. The change to Mecca was more than a change from one direction of worship to another; it was a clear indication that God’s design for the guidance of mankind had been perfected.

It was at the time of the construction of the House of God that Abraham and Ishmael prayed for a prophet to come among the people of Mecca. The prayer was answered, and the coming of the final prophet, whose focus would be Mecca, was decreed. God’s messengers who came to the world used to prophesy his coming.

Now that he had come the House of God in Mecca was made the qiblah for all nations. This was God’s sign, indicating that the prophet, whose coming had been anticipated, had finally arrived. As for the sincere—they needed no further proof, but even the conclusiveness of this sign was not enough to silence those who gave no thought to God. It is those who fear God who are guided on the path to Him. God remembers those who remember Him. Only those who are full of fear of Him are free of fear of all else besides Him.