قبلة
Qiblah
The direction of Makkah al-Mukarramah, which Muslims face in salah.
What it means
The qiblah is the direction of the Kaaba in Makkah al-Mukarramah, which Muslims face when they perform the salah. It is also the direction in which a Muslim is laid in the grave. A mosque is built so that its prayer niche (miḥrāb) marks it. In the first years after the migration to Madinah, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the believers faced Jerusalem. The Quran then directed him to turn his face toward the Sacred Mosque, and the believers with him (2:144). Muslims everywhere, wherever they are on earth, turn toward that one point, which gives the community a shared centre in worship.
Often misunderstood as
That Muslims worship the Kaaba, when it is only the direction they face in worshipping God alone.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 54, listed as QIBLAH. The definition is restated here.