English Translation

Waki' told us: Isra'il told us, from Abu Ishaq, from al-Bara' ibn 'Azib, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, prayed toward Jerusalem for sixteen or seventeen months, then he was turned toward the Ka'bah, and he loved that. So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, revealed: We have certainly seen the turning of your face toward the heaven, so We will surely turn you to a qiblah with which you will be pleased. So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram - the verse. He said: A man who had prayed the 'Asr prayer with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, passed by a group of the Ansar while they were bowing in the 'Asr prayer facing Jerusalem, and he said, he bore witness that he had prayed with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and that he had been turned toward the Ka'bah. He said: So they turned around while they were bowing in the 'Asr prayer.