142 Preface ۞ سَيَقولُ السُّفَهاءُ مِنَ النّاسِ ما وَلّاهُم عَن قِبلَتِهِمُ الَّتي كانوا عَلَيها ۚ قُل لِلَّهِ المَشرِقُ وَالمَغرِبُ ۚ يَهدي مَن يَشاءُ إِلىٰ صِراطٍ مُستَقيمٍAli Quli QaraiThe foolish among the people1 will say, ‘What has turned them away from the qiblah they were following?’2 Say, ‘To Allah belong the east and the west. He guides whomever He wishes to a straight path.’ That is, the Jews or the hypocrites amongst muslims, or both.The muslims first used to pray facing in the direction of Bayt al-Maqdis. This and the verses that follow pertain to the change of the qiblah, or the direction faced during prayer, from Quds to the Kaʿbah, in Makkah.