kewise, reflect upon the revealed verse concerning the "Qiblih."(33)
When Muhammad, the Sun of Prophethood, had fled from the dayspring of
Batha(34) unto Yathrib,(35) He continued to turn His face, while praying,
unto Jerusalem, the holy city, until the time when the Jews began to utter
unseemly words against Him--words which if mentioned would ill befit these
pages and would weary the reader. Muhammad strongly resented these words.
Whilst, wrapt in meditation and wonder, He was gazing toward heaven, He
heard the kindly Voice of Gabriel, saying: "We behold Thee from above,
turning Thy face to heaven; but We will have Thee turn to a Qiblih which
shall please Thee."(36) On a subsequent day, when the Prophet, together
with His companions, was offering the noontide prayer, and had already
performed two of the prescribed Rik'ats,(37) the Voice of Gabriel was
heard again: "Turn Thou Thy face towards the sacred Mosque."(38) ,(39) In
the midst of that same prayer, Muhammad suddenly turned His face away from
Jerusalem and faced the Ka'bih. Whereupon, a profound dismay seized
suddenly the companions of the Prophet. Their faith was shaken severely.
So great was their alarm, that many of them, discontinuing their prayer,
apostatized their faith. Verily, God caused not this turmoil but to test
and prove His servants. Otherwise, He, the ideal King, could easily have
left the Qiblih unchanged, and could have caused Jerusalem to remain the
Point of Adoration unto His Dispensation, thereby withholding not from
that holy city the distinction of acceptance which had been conferred upon
it.

None of the many Prophets sent down, since Moses was made manifest, as
Messengers of the Word of God, such as David, Jesus, and others among the
more exalted Manifestations who have appeared during the intervening
period between the Revelations of Moses and Muhammad, ever altered the law
of the Qiblih. These Messengers of the Lord of creation have, one and all,
directed their peoples to turn unto the same direction. In the eyes of
God, the ideal King, all the places of the earth are one and the same,
excepting that place which, in the days of His Manifestations, He doth
appoint for a particular purpose. Even as He hath revealed: "The East and
West are God's: therefore whichever way ye turn, there is the face of
God."(40) Notwithstanding the truth of these facts, why should the Qiblih
have been changed, thus casting such dismay amongst the people, causing