The Quran

143

Preface

وَكَذٰلِكَ جَعَلناكُم أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِتَكونوا شُهَداءَ عَلَى النّاسِ وَيَكونَ الرَّسولُ عَلَيكُم شَهيدًا ۗ وَما جَعَلنَا القِبلَةَ الَّتي كُنتَ عَلَيها إِلّا لِنَعلَمَ مَن يَتَّبِعُ الرَّسولَ مِمَّن يَنقَلِبُ عَلىٰ عَقِبَيهِ ۚ وَإِن كانَت لَكَبيرَةً إِلّا عَلَى الَّذينَ هَدَى اللَّهُ ۗ وَما كانَ اللَّهُ لِيُضيعَ إيمانَكُم ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنّاسِ لَرَءوفٌ رَحيمٌ

Yusuf Ali

Thus¹, have We made of you an Ummat justly balanced², that ye might be witnesses³ over the nations, and the Messenger a witness over yourselves; and We appointed the Qibla to which thou wast used, only to test those who followed the Messenger from those who would turn on their heels⁴ (From the Faith). Indeed it was (A change) momentous, except to those guided by God. And never would God Make your faith of no effect⁵. For God is to all people Most surely full of kindness, Most Merciful.

Thus : By giving you a Qiblah of your own, most ancient in history, and most modern as a symbol of your organisation as a new nation (Ummah).
Justly balanced : The essence of Islam is to avoid all extravagances on either side. It is a sober, practical religion. But the Arabic word (wasat) also implies a touch of the literal meaning of Intermediacy. Geographically, Arabia is in an intermediate position in the Old World, as was proved in history by the rapid expansion of Islam, north, south, west and east.
Witnesses. When two persons dispute, they advance extravagant claims. A just witness comes between them, and brings the light of reason to bear on them, pruning all their selfish extravagances. So the mission of Islam is to curb, for instance, the extreme formalism of the Mosaic law and the extreme “otherworldliness” professed by Christianity. The witness must be unselfish, equipped with first-hand knowledge, and ready to intervene in the cause of justice. Such is the position claimed by Islam among rival systems. Similarly, within Islam itself, the position of witness to whom disputants can appeal is held by Muḥammad Al Muṣṭafā. (Cf. 4:135, 5:44, and 5:8).
The Qiblah of Jerusalem might itself have seemed strange to the Arabs, and the change from it to the Ka‘ba might have seemed strange after they had become used to the other. In reality one direction or another, or east or west, in itself did not matter. What mattered was the sense of discipline, on which Islam lays so much stress: which of us is willing to follow the directions of the chosen Prophet of God? Mere quibblers about non-essential matters are tested by this. (R).
What became of prayer with the Jerusalem Qiblah? It was equally efficacious before the new Qiblah was ordained. God regards our faith: every act of true and genuine faith is efficacious with Him, even if formalists pick holes in such acts.