It is significant that while at mecca , the Holy Prophet(may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to pray with his face turned to holy mosque at Jerusalem, but when he came to Medena, he was directed by Divine revelation to turn his face to the Ka’bah as his qiblah.
This was a change of far-reaching importance, and it had different reactions in different circles. It strengthened the loyalty of the Muslims to Islam and the Holy Prophet. They expressed their implicit faith in Muhammed( peace be upon him) as the recipient of Divine revelation and acepted this change most willingly.
The Holy Qur’an refers,
And We appointed not the quibla, which you have had, but that We mightdistinguish him who follows the Apostle from him who turns back upon his heels, and this was surely hard except for those Allah has guided aright.
(ii: 143)
The change of direction had a deeper significance than might apper at first sight. It established Ka’bah at Mecca as a religious center for all Muslims, just as from time immemorial it had been a place of pilgrimage for all the tribes of Arabia.
