Inner Qiblah Recalibrating Our Faith
By Abdul Rahman Chao | 2026-01-15T10:14:52.522735+00:00 | Topic: Iman
Inner Qiblah: Recalibrating Our Faith
Opening Praise and Shahada
We praise Him, we ask His help and we ask His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide him, and whosoever He sends astray, none can guide him.
And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner. And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger.
The Historical Context of the Hijrah and Qibla Change
We know of the momentous Hijrah, the event where Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his companions moved and emigrated to Medina. By that time, salah was already required upon every Muslim. And during that time, the Muslims would face Baytul Maqdis, they would face Jerusalem to offer their prayers.
But about 16 months or 18 months, depending on the differences of opinions between the ulama, Allah describes this and He says:
"[We have certainly seen the turning of your face, [O Muhammad], toward the heaven, and We will surely turn you to a qiblah with which you will be pleased. So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you [believers] are, turn your faces toward it. Indeed, those who have been given the Scripture well know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do.]"
Describing, this ayah is describing to us how the Prophet (peace be upon him) would turn his face towards the heavens hoping that the Qibla would one day be changed to Makkah, would be changed to the Ka'bah. Lo and behold, Allah changed the direction and the Muslims, they faced the Ka'bah.
The Test and Blessing of the Qibla Change
Indeed, if we were to examine this event you will know that this is a blessing from Allah. The Muslims now can assert their identity. The Muslims can now show and be proud of this identity. A new identity that is attached to a location, the Ka'bah.
But at the same time, brothers and sisters, this was a test from Allah. It was a test for those believers. Because after they changed their direction by the commandment of Allah, there were people in Medina, they started to complain. They started to make fun of this change. And Allah tells us about it:
"[The foolish among the people will say, "What has turned them away from their qiblah, which they used to face?"]"
There will be foolish people among the people who will say, what has made these Muslims turn away from their previous Qibla.
The Greater Lesson Beyond Physical Direction
So yes, it is about a change in direction. However, Allah wants to teach us from this verse that there is something greater than simply turning in a direction. It is not about turning towards east or west, or north or south. But it is about turning towards Allah.
"Say, 'To Allah belongs the east and the west.'"
"He guides whom He wills to a straight path."
So here in this ayah, Allah wants to divert the focus from the change in the Qibla to a greater change. And that is submitting oneself to Allah. So it is not important what other people think. So despite the mockery, despite the doubtful glances that some groups would do towards the Muslims because of this change, Allah is trying to show us that that particular direction at the end of the day is not that critical. But what is more critical is turning towards Allah.
The Concept of the Inner Qibla
And so brothers and sisters, we are very very careful about turning towards the Qibla in our Salah. If we are in the mall, if we are in a park, if we are in a hotel room, we are very very careful about which direction the Qibla is. So much so to the point that some of us will even shift half a degree in a certain direction because they are so careful about the Qibla.
But the greater question brothers and sisters that I want to explore with you today is not about the Qibla or talking about the change of the Qibla from Baitul Maqdis to Makkah. Today I want to talk to you about another Qibla. And that Qibla brothers and sisters is a Qibla that is inside our hearts.
So yes for Salah we turn towards Makkah. But what about after Salah? Where is your heart turned towards brothers and sisters? We might stand in prayer next to our brothers and sisters. Sisters standing next to sisters, brothers standing next to brothers. We stand in straight lines. But the question is: Are our hearts organized, united? After Salah do we just get up and leave? So where is this inner Qibla brothers and sisters?
Problems with Our Inner Spiritual Direction
Some brothers they have an argument with another brother. So they might still come to the Masjid. They will come and do the formulaic: to stand straight and say the Takbeer and to pray to Allah. But what about after Salah? Will they exchange Salams?
Or perhaps a person will say I don't want to go to a certain Masjid anymore because I don't want to see so and so person's face. Because if I go there it's going to be awkward.
Now if you think about these things brothers and sisters, you will start to understand that there is a fundamental flaw in the inner Qibla in our hearts. Why is it that when we come to the Masjid brothers and sisters, we are so critical of other people? We hold other people to the highest standard, but when it comes to ourselves, we do not hold ourselves to that standard.
The Divine Compass Within Us
Brothers and sisters, Allah has given each and every one of us an inner Qibla, a compass. This compass will show us no matter where we are in this world, we can find Allah. A regular magnetic compass will turn towards the North, East, South or West, no matter how you turn, but it will always be based on the magnetic field of Earth.
Our magnetic field brothers and sisters for the Qibla that is in our hearts is the Iman in Allah. Is the Fitrah that Allah has given us. The natural inclination. It is a natural inclination to worship Allah, to please the Creator. That is what points our inner compass, our inner Qibla towards Allah.
So while we might not see the magnetic field of Earth, the inner Qibla brothers and sisters in our hearts, sometimes you are not going to see it within you, but you can see it wherever you go. You can see the ayat of Allah. And when you see those things, that should pull you in the direction towards Allah.
Quranic Guidance for Our Inner Compass
How many times have you read in the Quran in which Allah is pulling us in that direction? That spiritual magnetic field. Allah calls us to turn towards it over and over again. And He uses those words:
Look at the fate of those people who disobeyed before you. So if that's not the direction that you want to go down towards, if that's not the path you want to go down towards, then you should turn away.
How many times have you read in the Quran in which Allah tells us to look at the blessings that He has given us:
"So look at the effects of Allah's mercy - how He gives life to the earth after its lifelessness."
Look at the effects of Allah's mercy. How Allah brings a dead piece of land, a parched area of land back to life.
We find so many other verses telling us to look and seek out Allah:
"Look at its fruit when it yields and [at] its ripening."
Look at these fruits, look at these crops. Look at them, observe them, think, ponder. Ponder over these crops. Ponder over the nature that is around us. When those plants and fruit bearing trees when they yield and their fruits ripen.
Sometimes in Jum'ah you hear the Imam reading that verse every Jum'ah perhaps:
"Then do they not look at the camels - how they are created?"
Have you not seen how the camel was created, and how the heavens have been constructed and elevated above us? And how the mountains have been made? And how the earth has been flattened?
So Allah is telling us to look in all of these directions so that we can turn to one direction. And that is Allah.
Daily Recalibration Through Prayer
Brothers and sisters, Allah has given us other things, other tricks if you want to call them, other methods to help us turn to Allah. Over 17 times a day brothers and sisters, we are required to recalibrate our inner qiblah, our inner compass:
"Guide us to the straight path"
O Allah show us, guide us to the straight path.
"The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are lost."
The path of those whom you have bestowed your honor and favor upon. Not the path of those whose anger is upon them, and not the path of the misguided.
So that is why brothers and sisters, faith, your inner qiblah, this is not a static state of being. That you become mu'min and that's it. You have to constantly over and over again brothers and sisters, recalibrate your inner qiblah, your inner compass towards Allah. Why else would we read 17 times:
The Spiritual GPS Coordinates
And just in case brothers and sisters, and just in case if you forget, for every GPS that is out there, if you want to find a specific location you have to enter in the coordinates. The coordinates to Allah, they are 2, 4, 4, 3, 4: Fajr, Dhur, Asr, Maghrib, Isha. That's how you find Allah.
And just like how a person would move half a degree to face the qiblah, to be pinpointing the direction of the qiblah, Allah through the Prophet (peace be upon him) has shown us that if you want to pinpoint your qiblah to Allah, your inner heart to Allah, even to the smallest fraction, you pray the sunan, you pray the nawafil. Because that will really point you closer towards Allah.
When Our Inner Qibla Gets Disoriented
Sometimes brothers and sisters, our inner qiblah, it doesn't point in the right direction. Maybe because of our sins, maybe because of our own mistakes, maybe because we have been misinformed about something, maybe because of our whims, maybe because of our desires, whatever it is.
And you find this very evident during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him). A man came to the Prophet (peace be upon him). He said, Ya Rasulullah, make fornication halal. Make it permissible for me. And the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), they were only focusing on the outside of what he just said. They did not think about what is going on inside his heart.
So the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, as you know: Do you want this for your mother? Do you want this for your sister? Do you want this for your aunt? Do you want this for your daughter? And in every instance he would say: No Ya Rasulullah, I do not want this.
And listen what the Prophet (peace be upon him) tells us after that. He says that no one else wants that for their mothers or sisters or daughters and aunt. And then after that the Prophet (peace be upon him) touches his heart and he says, may Allah purify your heart.
Listen, this companion he said - by the way, he is unnamed - and that companion he said: And from then on, it is like as if I have never ever detested zina more than before. That thing was so detestable to me now. That inner qiblah that was facing towards something that was haram, through proper dialogue and respect and reason, it was now reoriented towards Allah.
[Reference needed - this appears to be from Ahmad's Musnad]
The Prophetic Dua for Reorientation
That is why we learn in the hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) when he teaches us this dua:
O Allah make iman beloved to us and adorn our hearts with it. And let disbelief and sin and transgression be something that we detest. Make us among those who are rightly guided, to be guided in that direction towards Allah.
(Bukhari 16)
The Example of Handhala's Spiritual State
You look at another example that you hear all the time of this man by the name of Handhala during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Abu Bakr was passing by him and Handhala would say Handhala has become a hypocrite. And so Abu Bakr was so concerned and they both went to the Prophet (peace be upon him).
And they described why Handhala, this companion felt like a hypocrite. And he said Ya Rasulallah when I am in front of you, my iman is up, I feel strong. But when I go back to my family I feel that my iman is down.
So the Prophet (peace be upon him), look at his response. His response was not: Boom! That's your fault. The Prophet's (peace be upon him) response shows total care and love. And he says Ya Handhala, if your iman was to be always in a perfect state, then the angels will come and shake hands with you. But rather, but rather hour by hour, meaning from time to time, you are going to be disoriented from time to time. This is part of the sunnah of Allah, that you will be disoriented. However, what we learn from this hadith brothers and sisters, is that you have to keep trying.
Muslim 2750
Two Methods of Recalibration: Prayer and Patience
And so this point that we have discussed, brothers and sisters, of the specific coordinates of how to turn towards Allah, it is through salah. That is why the Prophet (peace be upon him), whenever he was
confused, whenever he was afraid, whenever he saw something that he was fearful of, whenever something would concern him and worry him, he didn't go to a shrink and talk to him. The Prophet (peace be upon him) would immediately go to salah to reorient his compass, to recalibrate his inner qibla. He would go to salah immediately.
And the second way brothers and sisters to recalibrate this iman when it is disoriented is through patience. A man by the name of Khabbab, he came to the Prophet (peace be upon him). And this companion, by the way, as you know, he is probably one of the most tortured companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him). They used to put coal, burning coal on his back until it would melt into his flesh. They used to rip pieces of his body away from him.
And you know what? He came to the Prophet (peace be upon him). He said, Ya Rasulullah, when will we see success? When will we witness victory and taste it? And what did the Prophet (peace be upon him) say? His response is a very long response, but the essence of it is to be patient. His response was: You have to be patient.
Bukhari 3612
And that is why brothers and sisters, we conclude the first khutbah with a verse of the Quran. And this verse tells us and shows us these two steps through salah and through patience of how that reorients and recalibrates our iman. Allah tells us in the Quran:
And seek help through patience and salah.
All praise is due to Allah for His excellence, and thanks to Him for His guidance and favor. I say this and seek Allah's forgiveness.
Second Khutbah: Practical Applications of the Inner Qibla
Allah teaches us in the Quran that whenever something difficult falls upon us, regardless if it is a death or an accident, we have to remember the direction that we are heading towards. The characteristic of the believers is that if some tragedy was to befall them, their inner qiblah is facing towards Allah. In what way? As Allah describes it:
Verily we belong to Allah and verily do we return to Allah.
Lessons from the Prayer Lines
In our daily Salah brothers and sisters, when we line up in the lines, we put our feet next to the feet of our brothers, and the sisters put their feet next to the sisters. There is a great lesson to learn from this brothers and sisters. Just like how you move closer half an inch to your brother to fill in the gaps so that shaitan doesn't come in between, how can we learn from this in a practical way and apply that to our lives brothers and sisters?
In our relationships with people brothers and sisters, it's a give and take where reciprocity is required. You can't just simply expect people to give and you don't give back. When you move closer to each other in Salah, you and the other brother move your feet closer.
In our daily life brothers and sisters, whatever disagreements we have, we have to recognize that our fellow brothers and sisters, we are all on the same path. We are all trying to get to Jannah. We are all trying to get closer to Allah. So if we all have the same goal, we have to learn to live with those differences and to overlook them and to forgive. You move closer, they move closer.
The Prophetic Guidance on Reconciliation
The Prophet (peace be upon him) tells us: If two people are to disagree with each other, then the better person is the one that initiates and says Salam. It's not about: Well I'm not going to talk to him until they come and apologize to me first.
(Abu Dawud 4919)
And so that is our lesson, brothers and sisters. The Prophet (peace be upon him) tells us about, for example, if there is a line that is crowded and there is another line in front in which it is not filled up, some people they will try to cut through the line in order to fill that first line. What did he say? Be gentle with your arms for your brothers. In other words what? We are all trying to fill in the gaps within our life. Just like we fill in the gaps for Salah, we all have to cut each other some slack. We all have to be gentle towards each other brothers and sisters. If we have to be gentle to them in Salah, what about after Salah?
Learning from the Kaaba's Imperfect Circumstances
And another aspect brothers and sisters, we do know that the idols around the Kaaba, they were there all the way through the Prophet's time, all the way until the very end, until the conquest of Mecca. What did the Muslims say? We are going to stop praying towards the Qibla because there are still
idols there? No. It wasn't a perfect scenario. They were praying towards the Qibla even though there were still idols there. There were still some things there, but they had a common goal. They were worshipping not the house, but the Lord of that house.
And so brothers and sisters, we as Muslims here, we should have a common purpose. That there might be things that are happening in our community, it might not be a perfect utopian world, it might not be a rosy picture that you have come to understand, there might be some shortcomings, but you have to overlook those things for the greater good.
The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah: A Lesson in the Bigger Picture
Just like during the time of the Prophet, during the treaty of Hudaybiyyah, for many of the Muslims, for many of the Sahaba, for them to not go into Mecca and do Umrah and to simply return, they thought that this was a setback. But the Prophet (peace be upon him) showed them: You have to look at the bigger picture. Umar bin Khattab was opposing this treaty. He thought that this was a huge loss for the Muslims. It wasn't until much later that Umar realized: You don't need everything to be perfect in order to move forward.
This is one of the biggest tricks of Shaytan. You just need to have the good intention, the right methodology, and the right amount of courage in your heart to move forward. Because you never know what happens tomorrow. If you were to plan something that is perfect, if you were to plan something perfect tomorrow, that is of lesser quality than if you were to plan something today of a pretty good plan. As one of the generals of the United States Army, Patton, he says that to plan for a pretty good plan for today is better than to plan for a perfect plan for tomorrow or the day after, because you don't know what's going to happen.
If you see other people not changing, brothers and sisters, don't hold yourself back and say, well no one's changing, then I'm just going to throw in the towel. You change yourself.
The Importance of Brotherhood and Love
So that is why, brothers and sisters, if we don't learn, brothers and sisters, to love each other and to overlook the small differences among us - sometimes those differences are not even based in the Quran and Sunnah, they're ridiculous differences for small petty dunya-y things - we have to be careful of what leads or what that leads to, brothers and sisters.
And the Prophet (peace be upon him) tells us:
(Muslim 54)
By the one who possesses my soul in his hands, you will not enter Jannah until you believe, and you shall not believe until you love your brothers.
And so that is why, brothers and sisters, we have to turn towards Allah in our daily life.
Modern Examples of Recalibration
For those of you who use Android phones or use iPhone, whatever it is, sometimes when you are using Google Maps, you find that the compass inside the phone is not working well. So it will tell you to what? Move your phone in an eight-like figure shape to recalibrate the compass inside the phone. We have to constantly recalibrate our inner qiblah, in our hearts. We have to turn towards Allah.
Whenever you are on a trip, brothers and sisters, and you get lost, and you make a wrong turn, what does the GPS say to you? Recalculating. Turn here, make a U-turn there. It is a kind advice. When we see our brothers slipping up, we kindly remind them. You don't find that GPS machine saying: What's wrong with you? Why did you turn over there? Didn't I just tell you to turn back there?
If you want to help other people recalibrate to their faith, just like what the Prophet (peace be upon him) did to that sahabi who wanted that zina for himself, he did it in such a gentle way, in the form of a nice suggestion.
Constant Vigilance and Seeking Forgiveness
The Prophet (peace be upon him) would always turn towards Allah seventy times, a hundred times a day. He would do istighfar over and over again. We have to be vigilant, brothers and sisters.
Can you imagine someone, can you imagine someone that comes up to you who hates your guts and tells you, guess what, I hate you so much that I'm going to ruin you, and I'm going to ruin your wife, I'm going to ruin your kids and your grandkids, however long I live? You're going to think that person is crazy. You're going to do everything in your power to protect yourself.
But guess what? Before Iblis even met you, thousands of years ago, he made that oath. That's how much hatred Iblis has for all of us. He swore to Allah that he will misguide you. He's going to throw your inner compass off. Surely, I will misguide them. I'm going to draw the whims and desires from them so I can misguide them. Iblis has already made that promise.
That's why Allah tells us the greatest danger to our inner Qibla, turning towards Allah, is Shaitaan:
Shaitaan is your greatest and most manifest enemy, the clearest enemy.
Divine Promise and Response
And so that's why brothers and sisters, the Prophet (peace be upon him) tells us in a hadith that as long as we turn towards Allah, as long as we make that conscious effort, no matter how bad we are, as long as we keep turning towards Allah, Allah is waiting for us.
And you know in that hadith Qudsi: If my slave was to come walking towards me, Allah will come running towards you. And if you are to run towards Allah, Allah will come to you even faster. If you are to come in a hand length, the span of a hand, Allah will come closer to you the span of an arm length. Allah is there everywhere, waiting for us to turn to him. Everywhere you turn, Allah is there waiting for you. Allah is all knowing.
Bukhari 7536
The Meaning of Taqwa
And that is why brothers and sisters, we conclude with this word: Taqwa. A lot of times people like to translate this word Taqwa as fearing Allah. Nowadays you are probably hearing people say that Taqwa is to be God conscious. What does it mean to be God conscious? To constantly remind yourself that the inner Qibla inside of you has to be turned towards Allah. Wherever you are and you are always remembering that Allah is watching you, you are always conscious that Allah can change you at any moment.
Tirmidhi 2140
Oh Allah, you are the one who turns the hearts. Make firm our hearts upon what? Upon the remembrance and obedience towards Allah.
Closing Dua and Final Words
We make dua to Allah:
O Allah, grant victory to Islam and the Muslims and humiliate shirk and the mushrikeen.
Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.
Remember Allah the Great and Glorious, He will remember you. And thank Him for His blessings, He will increase you. And the remembrance of Allah is greatest. And Allah knows what you do.
And establish the salah.