In early days of declaration of islam the prophet had asked muslims to offer namaz towards Jerusalem.
If it is true, why the direction was later changed to kaaba, Mecca.
the muslims first prayed facing masjid-al-aqsa (in jerusalem) as it was the qiblah of the earlier prophets....
then when in madina, Allah wished to show to the prophet who were the hypocrites and ordered the change of qibla from masjid al-aqsa to masjid-al-haraam (in makka)....
Quran 2:143
And We appointed the qiblah which ye formerly observed only that We might know him who followeth the messenger, from him who turneth on his heels. In truth it was a hard (test) save for those whom Allah guided. But it was not Allah's purpose that your faith should be in vain, for Allah is Full of Pity, Merciful toward mankind.
and another reason also was that makka was the birthplace of the prophet and he loved the city, so Allah wanted to make him happy (as he was already sad to be forced to leave his home)....
Quran 2:144
*We have seen the turning of thy face to heaven (for guidance, O Muhammad). And now verily We shall make thee turn (in prayer) toward a qiblah which is dear to thee. So turn thy face toward the Masjid Al-Haraam, and ye (O Muslims), wheresoever ye may be, turn your faces (when ye pray) toward it. Lo! Those who have received the Scripture know that (this revelation) is the Truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do. *
and then again stating out that those jew hypocrites who had stated their conversion to Islam only to mingle with muslims and know of their secrets, wud be filtered out....
Quran 2:145
*And even if thou broughtest unto those who have received the Scripture all kinds of portents, they would not follow thy qiblah, nor canst thou be a follower of their qiblah; nor are some of them followers of the qiblah of others. And if thou shouldst follow their desires after the knowledge which hath come unto thee, then surely wert thou of the evil-doers. *
and then making it very clear that turning towards any qibla is just a sign of obedience to Allah and nothing more....
Quran 2:115
Unto Allah belong the East and the West, and whithersoever ye turn, there is Allah's Countenance. Lo! Allah is All-Embracing, All-Knowing
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by armughal: *
the muslims first prayed facing masjid-al-aqsa (in jerusalem) as it was the qiblah of the earlier prophets....
[/quote]
Masjid-e-Aqsa was raised in the reign of Omar.. how could muslims pray towards it before it was built?
^
read my post again…
PA, masjid al-aqsa was built during the time of Suleiman (the prophet) and if it did not exist during the time of the prophet (saw) then what does this verse refer to???
Quran 17:1
*Glorified be He Who carried His servant by night from Masjid-al-Haraam to the Masjid-al-Aqsa, the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed, that We might show him of Our tokens! Lo! He, only He, is the Hearer, the Seer. *
or was this verse also revealed during the time of Umar (ra)??? 
armughal does Qur'an support this assumption that Suleiman built such a mosque?
if Qur'an mentions "Masjid-Al-Aqsa" .. what makes it a mosque in Jerusalem? .. only historical proof that such a mosque was present and known by that name at the time of revelation..
After the revelation of the Qur'an.. everything is open for interpretation and association.. someone could erect a mosque in Iraq and call it Masjid-Alqsa.. what now.. is the verse pointing to that mosque?
Secondly look at the verse..just by reading this verse what comes to mind.. that God made his Prophet to go from the Sacred Mosque to the Furthest Mosque.. to me it looks like a case of a man guided by God taking up a journey (short or long) from one point to another.. but the moment you start quessing about the location of these two mosques mentioned you have to come up with weird fantasies of winged horses and space travel.. all unsupported from within the Qur'an.. but then.. that's another topic for another day..
[QUOTE]
Masjid-e-Aqsa was raised in the reign of Omar.. how could muslims pray towards it before it was built?
[/QUOTE]
Didn't Omar build the Dome of the Rock? Al-Aqsa Mosque is near the Dome of the Rock but they are not the same thing.
some controversial saying,
‘Muhammad learned much from the Jews. While actual timing of his decision on the direction of prayer may never be known, during his long sojourn with the Jews of Medina, his followers were instructed to pray towards Jerusalem. Early prominent Arab historians such as Jalaluddin came right out stated that this was done primarily as an attempt to win support among the influential Jewish tribes (the people of the book) for Muhammad’s religio-political claims.’
it further says,
‘When the Jews refused to recognize Muhammad as the “Seal of the Prophets,” he turned on them with a vengeance. Before long, with the exception of Yemen, there were virtually no Jews left on the Arabian Peninsula. And the direction of prayer was changed away from Jerusalem and towards Kaaba in Mecca instead’
quotes, www.paktoday.com/honig12.htm
12/16/2003
Thinking Jerusalem….
and i guess masjid-al-haraam might also be controversial…
maybe it was a mosuq in india or china…
who knows…
r u really a jahil or do u just act like one???
arrr
people..
the Kaabaa was the location of the first house of god.. has anyone seen Muqaam -e - Ibrahim??????
so praying towards it just reverted back to the old house.
the praying towards Jerusalem was political as well as religious...
it was common to the other two religions, judaism and christianity, and Islam at its advent needed that link to make it easier for followers of those religions to convert to Islam.
the change linked comonality with the rest of the pagan arabs therefore makinbg it easier for them to convert.
in the end the whole world is gods creation.. and as such is its temple/church/mosque. that is why when travelling when you dont know the direction of kaabaa you can face in any direction.
i am really curious if muslims ignore such topic or it is a non issue.
there must be some validreasons, muslim today are very imotional for mecca, but they bowed towards jerisalem once upon a time.
We're emotional towards Jerusalem as well; it's our third most sacred city...
Islam like Judaism and Christianity is an Abrahamic religion so we believe in all the earlier Prophets and therefore we have more rights over Jerusalem than the other two.
:p
of course it can be controversial.. without proof everything is just a story.. i find that facts and proofs are better than just blind acceptance.. therefore at times i come across as suspicious of widely accepted dogmas.. .but what’s your excuse for being so anally retentive? 
I am afraid that this topic will end in halt. I have read that prophet took guidance from god for all decisions, and how is it possible that god first asked him to instruct muslims to pray towards mecca and later changed his mind.
When I read the above article in a paki website I thought that the information is incorrect, but since it is correct, there must be some very good reasons and must not be political.
And Dhulfiqar, this is another discussion if Christians and jews have a right over jerusalem or mulims takeover is correct.
It is an enquiry post.
Where was the ‘Kabaa stone’ located when new convert muslims used to bow, offer namaz, towards Jerusalem?
Thanks in advance.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by chelaramani: *
I am afraid that this topic will end in halt. I have read that prophet took guidance from god for all decisions, and how is it possible that god first asked him to instruct muslims to pray towards mecca and later changed his mind....
[/QUOTE]
Its the other way around. First Muslims were praying towards Jerusalem (Masjid-al-Aqsa) then in one of prayers Prophet Mohammed PBUH was told to change his direction towards Mecca (Ka'aba).
mr changez, your post meant that allah asked the prophet to change thedirection of prayer? its ok but did allah give any valid reason for that? was the earlier direction a mistake?
and no affences please.
and what was the location of 'kabaa stone'? is it a difficult question?