I tried to Google this but got no good answers, (mostly blogs)
Anyway, what is the deal if Muslims don’t face toward Mecca when prayer. Other than probably being disrespectful toward Allah, is that all there is to it?
I don’t mean to sound stupid, but I don’t know how else to say it but if they don’t face Mecca, does the prayer not count? Does the prayer still count toward the daily 5 prayers?
I am not talking about if they physically can’t do this. I know Islam makes exceptions for that kind of thing, like I know Muslims can eat pork if they find themselves starving and can’t get any other food.
If one doesn’t know the direction of Mecca, they are allowed/expected to make their “best guess”… eg in most of the US it would be generally to the North East (the world is not flat).
If however they know the direction of Mecca and intentionally face some other way… umm… why would they do that?
Adherence to the fine points of any religious ritual is generally considered to be a reflection of intent. If you could face Mecca, but refuse to, that’s a reflection of your intent. If your intent is trivial, the holders of the ritual are not likely to consider that your results will be well-received by the Great Grantor (the Cherisher and Sustainer of the Worlds, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful, the Master of the Day of Judgment, etc. etc depending on the religion at hand).
All of this, of course, supposes that the whole thing works when done properly.
In terms of the pedantics of the situation, what if you were at the antipodal point on the Earth from Mecca? Then would not any direction be equally valid?
What if you were in space? Then wouldn’t you simply face earth?
And, of course, what if you were in Mecca? Isn’t there a big black stone that you’re supposed to face?
According to Unca Cecil, the calculation is done by the Great Circle method. The precise point of reference is the Kaaba, so in Mecca itself, one orients towards the Kaaba.
Some further wiki-reading on the qibla indicates that, inside the Kaaba, one can face in any direction to pray. The article also says that most Muslims will face towards Mecca using the great circle route although some will use the rhumb line, i.e., the bearing on a Mercator projection.
Incidentally, the antipodal point for Mecca is in the middle of Pacific Ocean, so I doubt that the question of where to face Mecca from there occurs very often.
