ISTIQBÂL-I QIBLA

It is to perform namâz towards the Ka'ba; it does not mean to perform it for the Ka'ba. Formerly the Qibla used to be Quds (Jerusalem). Seventeen months after the Hegira, at the third rak'at of the early afternoon or late afternoon prayer of a Tuesday in the middle of Sha'bân, Muslims were commanded to turn towards Ka'ba. According to Hanafî and Mâlikî Madhhabs, namâz will be accepted if the opening between the crosswise directions of the optic nerves includes Ka'ba. This angle is approximately 45^o.

A saferi person travelling on a ship or train must begin the fard namâz by standing towards the Qibla and put a compass somewhere near the place he will prostrate. He must turn towards the Qibla as the ship or train changes direction. Or someone else should make him turn right or left. If his chest deviates from the Qibla when performing the namâz, his namâz becomes nullified. For a ship or a train is like one’s own home. It is not like an animal. Since the fard namâz of those who cannot turn towards the Qibla on buses, on trains, on ships when the sea is rough will not be acceptable, they can imitate Shâfi’î Madhhab as long as they travel and perform the late afternoon prayer (asr) together with the early afternoon prayer (dhuhr) and the night prayer (esha) together with the evening prayer (maghrib), one right after the other.