وَلِكُلٍّ وِجْهَةٌ هُوَ مُوَلِّيهَا فَٱسْتَبِقُوا۟ ٱلْخَيْرَٰتِ أَيْنَ مَا تَكُونُوا۟ يَأْتِ بِكُمُ ٱللَّهُ جَمِيعًا إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
“And each one hath a goal toward which he turneth; so vie with one another in good works. Wheresoever ye may be, Allah will bring you all together. Lo! Allah is Able to do all things.” — M. M. Pickthall
Taberî9-10. c.✓ Citation verified
According to Taberî, the expression 'kull' (all) in the verse means 'the people of every religion' and the word 'ehl' (people) is omitted; each religion (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) has its own direction/qibla and that community turns its face towards it. According to another view, this is related to the Prophet first turning towards Bayt al-Maqdis, then towards the Kaaba. Taberî also explains that the word 'vecihe' (direction) means qibla and the verb 'tevliye' (to turn) is used here in the sense of 'turning towards, facing'.
يعني بقوله تعالى ذكره: {ولكل} ولكل أهل ملة، فحذف أهل الملة واكتفى بدلالة الكلام عليه
Fahreddin er-Râzî12-13. c.✓ Citation verified
In this text, Râzî interprets the expression 'every ummah has a direction/qibla' from several perspectives: according to one view, this means that each prophet and lawgiver has their own specific direction to turn towards, and according to another view, the pronoun refers to Allah and both Bayt al-Maqdis and the Kaaba are directions determined by Allah. Ultimately, what is commanded to the believers is to compete in good deeds through obedience to Allah's command, regardless of which qibla it is, because everyone's return is to Allah and on the Day of Judgment they will be distinguished according to their deeds.
الأول : أن الله عرفنا أن كل واحدة من هاتين القبلتين اللتين هما بيت المقدس والكعبة جهة يوليها الله تعالى عباده ، إذا شاء يفعله على حسب ما يعلمه صلاحا فالجهتان من الله تعالى وهو الذي ولى وجوه عباده إليهما ، فاستبقوا الخيرات بالانقياد لأمر الله في الحالتين
Kurtubî13. c.✓ Citation verified
Kurtubî first addresses this verse through the command 'fa-stebiku'l-hayrat' (compete in good deeds), stating that performing obligations at their early times is more virtuous than delaying them, and this is related to the matter of performing prayer at its first time. He also provides linguistic explanations regarding which entity the pronoun in the expression 'kulli vichetun' (every direction) refers to and conveys that this means that every practitioner of religion/nation turns towards their own qibla. In this context, he mentions various hadith reports transmitted from the Prophet regarding the virtue of performing prayer at its early time and the differing views of the school leaders (Abu Hanifa, Shafi'i, Malik) on this matter.
أي سارعوا إلى الطاعات وهذا يدل على أن تقديم الواجبات أفضل من تأخيرها وذلك لا اختلاف فيه في العبادات كلها إلا في الصلاة في أول الوقت فإن أبا حنيفة يرى أن الأولى تأخيرها وعموم الآية دليل عليه
İbn Kesîr14. c.✓ Citation verified
Ibn Kathir explains the expression 'every ummah has a direction/qibla that it turns towards' as each practitioner of religion turning towards their own qibla which they are pleased with. For Jews and Christians, there is a qibla towards which they turn, but believers are guided to the true qibla towards which Allah has directed them. According to another report, this expression refers to every people being commanded to pray towards the Kaaba; Ibn Kathir finds the first view clearer (more evident).
وقال أبو العالية لليهودي وجهة هو موليها وللنصراني وجهة هو موليها وهداكم أنتم أيتها الأمة إلى القبلة التي هي القبلة
Beydâvî13. c.✓ Citation verified
According to Baydawi, the expression 'every ummah has a qibla' either means a direction/qibla belonging to every ummah or it is stated that one of the objects in the expression 'waliyyuha' is omitted; a person may have turned themselves towards that direction or Allah may have directed them towards it. Furthermore, the reading 'walakulli wajhatin' (with the genitive construct) is also reported, and in this case the meaning would be that Allah has directed each group towards their direction, and the lam particle here is an extra particle for emphasis. Ibn Amir's reading 'muwalluha' is interpreted as meaning that Allah has predetermined that direction.
وقرئ: «ولكل وجهة» بالإضافة، والمعنى وكل وجهة الله موليها أهلها، واللام مزيدة للتأكيد جبرا لضعف العامل
Comparison
Common ground
All exegetes ground the expression 'every ummah/community has a direction/qibla' as meaning that each practitioner of religion or member of a nation has their own specific direction of orientation (such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam); furthermore, all of them perform linguistic and rhetorical analysis on 'vecihe/vichetun' and the referent of the pronoun, and base themselves on transmission chains (views of the Successors and Companions).
Differences
Taberî and Ibn Kathir employ a transmission-focused approach by listing different Successor views, and Ibn Kathir prefers one of them as 'more evident'; Râzî discusses that the pronoun can refer to Allah and that both qiblas can be divinely determined, thereby shifting the issue to the theological/obedience axis; Kurtubî connects the verse to a juristic inference (the virtue of performing prayer at its appointed time, school disagreements); Baydawi proceeds primarily through differing readings (such as Ibn Amir's reading) and grammatical analysis. These differences stem from each exegete's school of affiliation and primary methodology (transmission, theology, jurisprudence, language).
Historical context
From Taberî to Baydawi, the basic interpretive framework has remained largely stable, but the methodology of exegesis has diversified over time: in the early period, transmission-focused simple explanations predominated, whereas in later periods, linguistics, differing readings, theological discussions, and juristic inferences became attached to the verse. This demonstrates that the exegetical tradition has become increasingly multi-layered around this same verse.
Modern connection
This comparative reading reminds us that while acknowledging that different communities can have their own forms of orientation, what truly matters is the call to 'compete in good deeds'. This can be related in our time to the encouragement of a tolerant outlook towards different beliefs and ways of life, coupled with a stance focused on goodness and service. Furthermore, the joint treatment of knowledge (language, history, transmission) with religious understanding presents a cautious example regarding the importance of knowledge-based religious understanding.
AI analysis — not a fatwa or ruling, not yet reviewed by a scholar