Is the qiblah of the Muslims when they pray always towards the East?

Firstly: 

The Muslims turn to face
the Ka’bah when they pray, in response to the command of Allaah, This is the
qiblah (direction of prayer) of their father Ibraaheem (peace be upon him). 

There is great wisdom in
this command to turn towards the Ka’bah when praying. 

The scholars of the
Standing Committee for issuing Fatwas were asked: What is the wisdom behind
the Muslims taking the Ka’bah as their qiblah or direction of prayer? 

They replied: 

It is no secret that the
Muslim is required to do whatever he can of the things that are enjoined,
and to refrain from all the haraam things that are forbidden, whether or not
he understands the wisdom behind the prohibition, whilst believing that
Allaah does not command His slaves to do anything but that which is in their
best interests, and He does not forbid them to do anything but that which is
harmful to them. His laws are all for a reason which is known to Him, and He
makes apparent whatever He wills of it, so that the believer will increase
in faith thereby. And He conceals whatever He wills thereof, so as to
increase the believer in submission to the command of Allaah out of faith. 

The Muslims take the Ka’bah
as their direction of prayer in response to the command of Allaah in the
verse where He says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Verily, We have seen
the turning of your (Muhammad’s) face towards the heaven. Surely, We shall
turn you to a Qiblah (prayer direction) that shall please you, so turn your
face in the direction of Al-Masjid Al-Haraam (at Makkah). And wheresoever
you people are, turn your faces (in prayer) in that direction”

[al-Baqraah 2:144]

Perhaps one of the reasons
why Allaah commanded them to do that is that it was the qiblah of their
father Ibraaheem (peace be upon him). It is also narrated concerning the
reason for revelation of this verse that our Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) wanted to be commanded to turn to face the
Ka’bah when praying instead of turning towards Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem),
and Allaah commanded him to do that. 

It may also have been to
put an end to the Jews’ argument that he was facing the same direction of
prayer as they did. 

And it may have been for
other reasons. Allaah knows best. End quote. 

Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn
Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ghadyaan,
Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Qa’ood. 

Fataawa al-Lajnah
al-Daa’imah (6/311, 312) 

For more information please
see the answer to question no. 1953. 

Secondly: 

It is not correct to say
that the Muslims face east when praying, rather for some Muslims the Ka’bah
may be in the east, or it may be in the west or the north or the south. That
varies according to the geographical position of a country in relation to
Makkah al-Mukarramah. 

As for those whose
direction of prayer is always to the east, they are some groups of
Christians, not Muslims! 

Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning): 

“And even if you were to
bring to the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) all the Ayaat
(proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), they would
not follow your Qiblah (prayer direction), nor are you going to follow their
Qiblah (prayer direction). And they will not follow each other’s Qiblah
(prayer direction). Verily, if you follow their desires after that which you
have received of knowledge (from Allaah), then indeed you will be one of the
Zaalimoon (polytheists, wrongdoers)”

[al-Baqarah 2:145]

Imam al-Tabari (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said: 

With regard to the words “nor
are you going to follow their Qiblah (prayer direction)”, He is saying:
You have no way, O Muhammad, of following their direction of prayer, because
the Jews turn to face Jerusalem when they pray, and the Christians face
towards the east. So how can you follow their direction of prayer when they
differ from one another? So stick to the qiblah which you have been
commanded to turn towards, and ignore what the Jews and Christians say when
they call you to turn towards their qiblah. 

Tafseer
al-Tabari (3/185). 

Ibn Qudaamah (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said in al-Mughni (1/429) that the Christians
turned towards the East, and the Christians’ turning towards the east is one
aspect of the way in which they have distorted their religion and gone
against the Messiah and the Gospel. 

Shaykh Saalih ibn al-Husayn
al-Ja’fari al-Haashimi said: 

Another issue is that the
Christians pray towards the east, where the sun rises, and they take this as
their direction of prayer. The Messiah (peace be upon him) throughout his
stay on earth, prayed towards Bayt al-Maqdis or Jerusalem, which was the
qiblah of Moosa ibn ‘Imraan and the Prophets. He said:

“Do not think that I have
come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but
to fulfill them.

18
I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth
disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by
any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished”

[Matthew 5:17-18] 

But the Christians went
against the Messiah and the Prophets, and they gave as their excuse for
turning to face towards the east the notion that this is the direction
facing which their Lord was crucified and their God was killed. 

It may be said to them: 

O fools! If you had any
understanding you would hate the direction of the east, and despise it, and
regard it as inauspicious, and you would refuse it in ordinary matters, let
alone matters of worship, because it is not the direction towards which the
Messiah prayed and the Gospels do not testify to that. None of the Prophets
prayed facing it at all. Moreover it is the direction from which you were
destroyed and scattered and divided into groups. So the fact that you
venerate this direction which is the worst of directions for you is
something which makes a laughing-stock of you and brings scorn upon you. It
would have been better for you not to turn away from the direction of
Jerusalem because the Gospel says that the Samaritan woman said to the
Messiah:  

“ ‘Sir … our fathers
worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must
worship is in Jerusalem.’

 21Jesus declared, ‘Believe
me, woman, … you Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we
do know’”

[John 4:19-21] 

Here the Messiah is
testifying that God has no direction which is to be faced in prayer except
Bayt al-Maqdis, which is Jerusalem. Do you know better than the Messiah what
God has enjoined? Verily we belong to God and unto Him is our return; we
mourn the loss of your reason, which lead to your doom. End quote. 

Takhjeel man harrafa
al-Tawraat wa’l-Injeel (2/591, 592) 

Thus it is clear that the
questioner is mistaken in thinking that the Muslims always face towards the
east when they pray, and it is clear that this is the religious practice of
the Christians. 

And Allaah knows best.