(Unto Allah belong the East and the West…) [2:115].
There is a scholarly disagreement regarding the occasion of revelation of this Qur'anic verse. Abu Mansur al-Mansuri informed us> al-Hafiz 'Ali ibn 'Umar> Abu Muhammad Isma'il ibn 'Ali> al-Hasan ibn 'Ali ibn Shabib al-'Umari> Ahmad ibn 'Ubayd Allah ibn al-Hasan al-'Anbari who said: “I found written in my father's epistle: 'Abd al-Malik al-'Arzami narrated to us> 'Ata' ibn Rabah> Jabir ibn 'Abd al-Malik who said: 'The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, sent a military expedition in which I was present. It was dark and so we could not determine the precise direction of the qiblah. Some of us said: we know the exact direction; it is toward the North. They prayed and drew lines. Some others said: the qiblah is toward the South. They prayed and drew lines. When it was morning and the sun had risen up, they discovered that their lines were pointed to a different direction to that of the qiblah. When we returned from our journey we asked the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, about this but he did not give us an answer. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed this verse (Unto Allah belong the East and the West…)' ”.
Abu Mansur informed us> 'Ali> Yahya ibn Sa'id>Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Ahmasi> Waki'> Ash'ath al-Samman> 'Asim ibn 'Ubayd Allah> 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amir ibn Rabi'ah> his father who said: “We were praying with the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, while on a journey. And because it was a dark night we could not determine the precise direction of the qiblah. Each man prayed toward whichever direction he thought was right. In the following morning, we mentioned what had happened to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and then the verse (Unto Allah belong the East and the West…) was revealed”.
Ibn 'Umar is of the opinion that the above verse is about voluntary offering of supererogatory prayers. Abu'l-Qasim ibn Sa'dan informed us> Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah al-Hafiz> Muhammad ibn Ya'qub> Abu'l-Bukhturi 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Shakir> Abu Usamah> 'Abd al-Malik ibn Sulayman> Sa'id ibn Jubayr> Ibn 'Umar who said: “The verses (Unto Allah belong the East and the West…) was revealed so that one prays toward whatever direction one's mount directs one upon offering supererogatory prayer”.
Said Ibn 'Abbas, according to the narration of 'Ata': “When the Negus died, Gabriel came to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and said: 'The Negus has died, so perform the prayer of the dead over him'. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, summoned his Companions, aligned them in rows, went to the front and said: 'Allah has commanded me to perform the prayer of the dead over the Negus who has died, so do pray over him'. And the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and his Companions prayed over him. The Companions of the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said in between themselves: 'How could we possibly pray over a man who prayed toward other than our own qiblah', this is because the Negus prayed toward Jerusalem which was the qiblah until he died but which was subsequently changed toward the Ka'bah. Allah, exalted is He, therefore, revealed this verse (… and whithersoever ye turn, there is Allah's Countenance…)”.
Qatadah, on the other hand, is of the opinion that the above verse was abrogated by the saying of Allah, exalted is He (wheresoever ye may be, turn your faces (when ye pray) toward it) [2:144]. This is also the opinion of Ibn 'Abbas, according to the report of 'Ata' al-Khurasani. He also said: “The first of the Qur'an to be abrogated is the question of the qiblah. Allah, exalted is He, says (Unto Allah belong the East and the West and whithersoever ye turn, there is Allah's Countenance). Thus, Allah's Messenger, Allah bless him and give him peace, prayed toward Jerusalem and left praying toward the Ancient House. Then, Allah directed him to pray toward the Ancient House”.
He said: “And in the report of 'Ali ibn Abi Talhah al-Walibi that when Allah's Messenger, Allah bless him and give him peace, migrated to Medina which was mainly populated by the Jews, Allah commanded him to pray toward Jerusalem. The Jews were happy. He prayed toward this direction over thirteen months. But the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, liked the qiblah of Abraham. So when Allah, exalted is He, directed him to it, the Jews felt uncomfortable and said: (What hath turned them from the qiblah which they formerly observed?) [2:142], Allah, exalted is He, revealed: (whithersoever ye turn, there is Allah's Countenance)”.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou