[Q 415] Ruling on Looking Around in Salah, Where to Look During Salah, Turning Face or Eyes in Prayer

QUESTION:

Are you allowed to look anywhere during salah, provided your chest is facing the qiblah?

ANSWER:

During namaz (salah), turning the face here and there without necessity is makrooh tahreemi (prohibitively disliked and sinful). However, if one looks around by only moving the eyes, without turning the face, then this is makrooh tanzihi (mildly disliked), meaning it should also be avoided.

Regarding turning the face during salah, there is a Hadith of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم:

«إياكم والالتفات في الصلاة فإنه هلكة»
Translation: Beware of turning during salah, for indeed it is destruction.

Explaining iltifaat (turning), Allama Haddadi رحمہ الله تعالى states:

والالتفات المكروه أن يلوي عنقه حتى يخرج وجهه عن وجهة القبلة، وأما إذا التفت بصدره فسدت صلاته

(Al-Jawharah al-Nayyirah, Volume 1, Page 63)

Similarly, it is mentioned in Al-Binayah:

والالتفات مكروه بالاتفاق بين أهل العلم

(Badr al-Din al-Ayni, Al-Binayah Sharh al-Hidayah, Volume 2, Page 438)

In Durr al-Mukhtar it states:

(والالتفات بوجهه) كله (أو بعضه) للنهي وببصره يكره تنزيها

(Al-Durr al-Mukhtar wa Radd al-Muhtar, Volume 1, Page 643)

Answered by: Mubashir Attari (AskMufti Scholar)
Verified by: Mufti Sajid Attari
Translated answer
Date: 22nd June 2025.