Meaning of Ayah {So wherever you turn yourselves, there is the Face of Allah}

The question: What is the meaning of the Saying of Allah, {So wherever you turn yourselves or your faces there is the Face of Allah (and He is High above, over His Throne).} [2:115] The answer: This Ayah was sent down for a reason, and it is that there was a group of travellers who were uncertain about the direction of the Qiblah. So, they made Ijtihad (did their best to try and find the correct Qiblah) and prayed Fajr. When they woke up, they found that they did not pray to the Qiblah. They then came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked him about their prayer (if it is valid or not), so Allah sent down this Ayah: {And to Allah belong the east and the west, so wherever you turn yourselves or your faces there is the Face of Allah (and He is High above, over His Throne).} [2:115] So, if a Muslim makes Ijtihad, seeks the Qiblah, while he’s in a faraway place and has nobody to tell him about the Qiblah, and prays, then after that he finds out that it was wrong, then his prayer is valid. That is because he did what he could. Allah the Most-High says: {So keep your duty to Allah and fear Him as much as you can.} [64:16] And He says: {Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope.} [2:286] This is one saying. The second saying states that it was sent down regarding the voluntary prayer in travel. If a traveller wants to pray the night prayer whilst travelling on his way, then he prays in whichever direction he’s heading in. Even if it’s not in the direction of the Qiblah, this is regarding the voluntary prayer when travelling. The Prophet ﷺ used to pray the night prayer and voluntary prayer on his riding camel when travelling, in whichever direction it turned.