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"Why does the Imam of the Masjid al-Haram only pray from one direction facing the door of the Kaaba, even though prayer is permissible from all four directions? "

1 min readAlso available in العربية

"Praise be to Allah, and prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family and companions, thereafter:

The direction (Qibla) for those who see the Kaaba is the very eye of the Kaaba, and prayer is valid from any direction for the Muslim as long as he is facing the very eye of the Kaaba. It is permissible to pray inside the Kaaba facing any of its walls. Prayer, whether supererogatory or obligatory, is permissible inside the Kaaba while facing any wall, with the condition of having a barrier when facing the door. The current position of the Imam opposite the door of the Kaaba may be due to the presence of the Maqam Ibrahim in this direction, and this position is not necessary, as past Imams had been leading prayers from various places in the mosque, and even the Imam of Taraweeh prays under the canopy in the direction of the Yemeni Corner."

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy