ٱلْبَقَرَة : ١٤٢

  • سَيَقُولُ Will say
  • ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ the foolish ones
  • مِنَ from
  • ٱلنَّاسِ the people
  • مَا What
  • وَلَّىٰهُمۡ (has) turned them
  • عَن from
  • قِبۡلَتِهِمُ their direction of prayer
  • ٱلَّتِي which
  • كَانُواْ they were used to
  • عَلَيۡهَاۚ [on it]
  • قُل Say
  • لِّلَّهِ For Allah
  • ٱلۡمَشۡرِقُ (is) the east
  • وَٱلۡمَغۡرِبُۚ and the west
  • يَهۡدِي He guides
  • مَن whom
  • يَشَآءُ He wills
  • إِلَىٰ to
  • صِرَٰطٖ a path
  • مُّسۡتَقِيمٖ straight
The foolish among the people will say, "What has turned them away from their qiblah,1 which they used to face?"2 Say, "To Allāh belongs the east and the west. He guides whom He wills to a straight path."
Footnotes
1 The direction faced in prayer.
2 Prior to the command (in verse 144) that the Prophet (ﷺ) and his followers turn toward the Kaʿbah in Makkah for prayer, they had been facing Jerusalem to the north. The implications of this change are mentioned in succeeding verses.
The fools, the ignorant, among the people, that is, the Jews and the idolaters, will say, 'What, matter, has turned them, the Prophet may peace and salutation be upon him and the believers, from the direction they were facing in their prayers formerly?', this being the Holy House (bayt al-maqdis, sc. Jerusalem); the seen [of sa-yaqoolu, 'they will say'] denotes the future tense and informs of the Unseen. Say: 'To God belong the East and the West, that is, all directions. Thus He commands that they face whichever direction He wills, and there can be no objection. He guides whomever He will, His guidance being, to a straight path', that is, the religion of Islam, and you are among these [guided ones].