Those Muslims who support the notion of abrogation within the Qur'an, cite the verse "...We did not make the focal point that you came on except that We may know who is following the messenger from those who will turn on their heels..." (2:143) to support their position that verses within the Qur'an can and have been abrogated.
We cover the concept of abrogation in detail in the Qur'an here.
Arabic word 'ja'alna' (make)
The argument rests with the Arabic word 'ja'alna' (make) as in "...We did not make..." (2:143). It is claimed that this must mean it was Allah Who made Jerusalem the Qiblah for the believers. Therefore, Allah must have revealed this direction to Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) as otherwise Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) would not have known about it.
It is implied that the Jerusalem verse was then abrogated with "...you shall set your face towards the Masjid-al-Haram..." (2:144) and the original verse was forgotten in accordance with "...make it forgotten..." (2:106).
However, we have established that "We do not duplicate a sign, or make it forgotten, unless We bring
one which is like it or even greater..." (2:106) to mean replacement and cancellation of previous miracles and revelations and not for internal Qur'anic verses themselves in our article on abrogation
Before moving on, lets take look at the same verb in a different context where Allah says "...We have made some of you as a test for others to see if you will have patience..." (25:20). The word 'ja'alna' appears here in exactly the same way. Does this verse then imply that Allah sends revelations to individuals, instructing them to test their fellow human beings? The answer is obviously not. This simply means an individual is capable of making their own decisions, but only through the will of Allah.
Allah's methods of communication
Allah has informed us in the Qur'an of His methods of communication with humanity.
The Qur'an states that when Allah speaks to humans, He only does so "...through inspiration, or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger to inspire whom He wills with His permission..." (42:51).
"...through inspiration..." (42:51) means planting ideas in the minds of people to take certain actions to fulfil their roles as part of the wider divine plan.
"...from behind a veil..." (42:51) could mean communicating through objects such as when Allah spoke to Moses through a fire.
"...by sending a messenger to inspire whom He wills with His permission..." (42:51) means usually sending an angel to deliver a direct message to a human. The clearest example being when Gabriel came and spoke the Qur'an to Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) or a when an angel came and spoke to Mary.
However, receiving inspiration from Allah does not automatically make such individuals messengers, as we will see from other narratives in the Qur'an. But all messengers do receive inspiration.
Allah's plans through inspiration
When Pharaoh starting oppressing the Israelites "... by killing their sons and
raping their women..." (28:4), Allah made plans to thwart Pharoah by saving Moses "...so he would be an
enemy to them and a source of sadness..." (28:8) and to "...show Pharaoh and
Haamaan and their troops what they had feared" (28:6). Not only that, Allah's plan was to ensure that Moses was to be raised in the household of Pharoah, by making Pharoah's wife become attached to Moses by saying "...a pleasure to my eye and yours (Pharoah), so
do not kill him..." (28:9).
In order for the divine plan to be fulfilled, Allah inspired the mother of Moses "that she should cast him (Moses) in the basket, and cast it in the running water..." (20:39), and then Allah inspired the sister of Moses to say to the wife of pharaoh "...shall I guide you to a person who will nurse him..." (20:40), and thus re-uniting mother and baby. The narrative is mentioned again when the Qur'an says "...We inspired to Moses' mother 'suckle him, and if you become fearful for him, then cast him in the running water'..." (28:7). These verses do not imply that the mother and sister of Moses were receiving scriptural revelation. Rather, they were simply being inspired to fulfil their assigned roles within Allah's greater plan.
Another example is when Allah narrates the story of Jesus and states "...I inspired the disciples 'you shall believe in Me and My messenger..." (5:111). This was not scriptural revelation made to the disciples of Jesus, but where Allah took control of the situation to inspire the disciples to believe.
Separately, before the Battle of Badr between the small Muslim community and the pagan Meccan tribes, the Qur'an tells us that Allah "...made you go out from your home with the truth, but a party from among the believers disliked this" (8:5). Again Allah took control situation and inspired some of the believers to "...strive with
their money and lives..." (4:95) in aid of His messenger, even though others were not so keen. Had it been a Qur'anic revelation to march to Badr, then all believers would have obeyed without hesitancy. This is made explicitly clear later, when the Qur'an says "it was not you who killed them, but it was Allah who killed them..." (8:17). This is yet another scenario of divine inspiration by Allah to individual people to fulfil the wider divine plan but without scriptural revelation.
The last example is when the Qur'an mentions a domestic incident involving Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) who "...confided a narrative to some of his wives, then one of them spread it, and Allah revealed it to him..." (66:3). When Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) confronted her, she asked "...who informed you of this?..." (66:3) to which Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) replied "...I was informed by the Knowledgeable, the Expert" (66:3). Does this mean Allah sent Qur'anic revelation to Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) or was it simply divine inspiration.
These verses show that when Allah has taken control of a situation, he inspires people to undertake certain tasks to enable the completion of that plan, whether they are aware of it or not. These individual inspirational moments were situational, are not designed to be universal laws for mankind to follow.
Temporary Qiblah
As for the early believers, Allah's greater plan was to test them to distinguish between "...who is following the messenger..." (2:143) and those who were still loyal to the old polytheistic religion and tribal traditions. In order for the divine plan to complete, Allah inspired Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) to face Jerusalem, similar to how He inspired the mother of Moses to cast her son in the river.
Turning away from the Kaaba and facing Jerusalem was a very difficult change for the wavering believers as the Qur'an notes "...it was a great thing indeed..." (2:143). The Kaaba was part of the heritage and a source of pride for the Quraysh. Only those whose hearts were truly guided could handle the social and psychological pressure of facing a 'foreign' Qiblah, especially when some people mockingly asked "...what has turned
them away from the focal point that they were on?..." (2:142).
Interestingly, if there had been a Qur'anic verse directing the Muslims to face Jerusalem, then the response to the mocking question would have been the recitation of this verse. However, Allah instead instructs Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) to respond with "...to Allah is the east and the west, He guides whomsoever He wishes to a
straight path..." (2:142), clearly showing that there was no Qur'anic command at the time to face Jerusalem.
We must remember that the mission of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was completed over two decades. He was constantly dealing with fluid situations which required strategic navigation to fulfil the overall divine plan. If Qur'anic revelation was required to support every action of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him), then the Qur'an would have become millions of pages long. Temporary inspirations such as facing Jerusalem is just one example of situational divine inspiration, whereas the permanent, universal laws for all of humanity were decreed in the Qur'an.
Permanent Qiblah
Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) knew that those communities who had received revelation previously, had always had a distinct Qiblah of their own, as indicated when the Qur'an says "...nor will some of them even follow each others focal point..." (2:145). But here the Muslims did not have their own, and were following the Jewish Qiblah.
Even when Allah inspires an individual, that person may not be fully aware of the source of guidance. For example, Moses' mother was inspired "that she should cast him (Moses) in the basket, and cast it in the running water..." (20:39), yet she told her daughter to secretly "...'follow his path.' so she watched him from afar, while they did not notice" (28:11). This is simply just a natural reaction when a person is unsure of their decision even if they feel they are doing the right thing. Similarly, Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him), while facing Jerusalem through divine inspiration, continued to seek confirmation from Allah by way of a Quranic revelation.
Allah acknowledges Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) anxiety in following the Jewish Qiblah when the Qur'an says "We see the shifting of your face in the heaven..." (2:144). Whilst facing Jerusalem, Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) did not know it was a temporary test for the believers until the Qur'an revealed "...except that We may know who is following the messenger from those who will turn on their heels..." (2:143).
If there had indeed been a Qur'anic verse directing the Muslims towards Jerusalem, Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) would never had continued to seek another revelation to change direction. Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was the most faithful to the Qur'an and its verses which says "...there is no changing His words..." (6:115 and 18:27). We must know that Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) would be the first of all the Muslims to say "...we
hear and obey..." (2:285) in any matter without then seeking a change.
Precisely because there was no Qur'anic verse directing toward Jerusalem, Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was seeking a permanent decree for a Muslim Qiblah which would be different to the Jewish Qiblah. As mentioned, Allah's wider plan was to see "...who is following the messenger from those who will turn on their heels..." (2:143). Once this had been established, the test of facing away from the Kaaba ended, and Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) mind was put at ease when Allah then revealed He had "...set for you
a focal point that will be pleasing to you..." (2:144). The use of the word 'pleasing' would imply that the previous Qiblah was not 'pleasing' to Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) as he was not following a Qur'anic decree. The fixed command to "...set your face towards the Masjid-al-Haram..." (2:144) was thus revealed in the Qur'an, and this made it permanently fixed for humanity.
Therefore, the absence of any Qur'anic revelation on Jerusalem in the first instance, allowed the Qiblah to be changed later to Masjid-al-Haram.
Conclusion
The early practice of facing Jerusalem falls into the category of situational divine inspiration, not permanent Qur'anic legislation. It was never revealed as part of the Qur'an, nor preserved as a verse for the community to recite. Even those who rely on the hadith cannot produce a single report claiming that a Qur'anic verse had ever instructed the believers to face Jerusalem. The hadith simply describes Prophet Mohammed's (peace be upon him) practice, prior to the Qur'an's permanent command to face Masjid al‑Haram.
For abrogation to exist in any form, there must be an earlier Qur'anic verse and then a later Qur'anic verse which cancels it. Because there no Qur'anic verse to support facing the Jerusalem Qiblah, means nothing exists to be abrogated. Therefore, the first and only Qiblah instructed by the Qur'an is Masjid-al-Haram.
Whenever Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) faced a dilemma to deal with a situation, Allah inspired him with the solution. When a permanent law was required for humanity, Allah then revealed it in the Qur'an.
Therefore, the changing of the Jerusalem Qiblah cannot be cited as evidence of internal Qur'anic abrogation.