A man praying part of his prayer facing away from the qiblah: those who said it counts

Sayyiduna al-Bara' bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I prayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) facing Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) for sixteen months, until this verse of Surah al-Baqarah was revealed: "And wherever you are, turn your faces toward it" [Al-Baqarah: 144]. This verse was revealed after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had prayed. So a man passed by some of the Ansar while they were praying, and he told them the whole matter, and they turned their faces toward the qiblah.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The caller of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came and said: "The qiblah has been turned toward the Sacred Mosque." At that time the imam had already prayed two rak'ahs. On hearing this, all the people turned around and offered the remaining two rak'ahs facing the Ka'bah.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions prayed facing Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) for sixteen months. Then the Ka'bah was made the qiblah.

Sayyiduna Umarah bin Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We used to pray facing Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem). Then a messenger came while our imam was bowing and we too were in the state of bowing. He said: "Qur'an has been revealed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and the command has been given to face the Ka'bah; so you too now turn to face the Ka'bah." Our imam turned toward the Ka'bah while still bowing, and all the people also turned toward the Ka'bah. So we offered part of that prayer facing Bayt al-Maqdis and part of it facing the Ka'bah.

Uqayl said: Ibn Shihab was asked: "If, on a cloudy day, people pray facing a direction other than the qiblah, and while in prayer it becomes clear that the qiblah is in another direction, what should they do?" He said: "They should turn toward the qiblah, and they need not repeat what they have already prayed. The Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did the same when they were commanded to make the Ka'bah their qiblah. Before that they were praying facing Bayt al-Maqdis; after this command they turned toward the Ka'bah. Thus they prayed part of the prayer facing Bayt al-Maqdis and part of it facing the Ka'bah."

Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: They were in the state of bowing in the Fajr prayer, and they turned toward the Ka'bah while still bowing.

Mujahid said regarding this verse of the Qur'an, "So wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah" [Al-Baqarah: 115]: the Face of Allah means the qiblah of Allah; so wherever you pray, in the east or the west, you must face the qiblah.

Al-Dahhak bin Muzahim said: In the verse of the Qur'an, "And for each there is a direction to which he turns" [Al-Baqarah: 148], "direction" (wijhah) means the qiblah.

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Do not keep any part of the Ka'bah behind you; rather, keep it entirely in front of you.

Abu al-Aliyah said: In the verse, "shatrahu" means facing it.

Amir said: If a man prayed on a cloudy day facing a direction other than the qiblah, he does not need to repeat it.

Hajjaj said: I asked Ata about a person who prays on an overcast day facing a direction other than the qiblah. Ata said: "His prayer is valid."

He said: The person who asked Ibrahim and al-Sha'bi told me that they both said: "His prayer is valid."

Al-Qa'qa' bin Yazid said: I was blind, and I prayed facing a direction other than the qiblah. So I asked Ibrahim about it, and he said: "Your prayer is valid."

Mis'ar said: I asked Ata about a person who prays facing a direction other than the qiblah, and he said: "His prayer is valid."

Ibrahim said about a person who prays facing a direction other than the qiblah: His prayer is valid.

Ibrahim said about a person who prays facing a direction other than the qiblah: His prayer is valid.

Sa'id bin al-Musayyib said: He is not required to repeat the prayer.

Ibrahim said: If a man prayed on a cloudy day facing a direction other than the qiblah, and when the clouds cleared he had already prayed part of the prayer, he should count what he has prayed and offer the rest of the prayer facing the qiblah.

Hammad said about a person who prays facing a direction other than the qiblah: His prayer is done (valid).