A new Qiblah

On Sha’ban, 2 A.H., the Qiblah (direction Muslims pray toward) was changed from Bait Al-Maqdis in Jerusalem to the Ka’bah in Makkah. The change was announced by Allah in a verse in the Qur’an. The Prophet and the sincere Muslims rejoiced over this change. The Hypocrites who had pretended to be Muslims, however, protested the change, and many of them reverted to either Judaism or paganism, thereby purifying the ranks of Muslims.