[[ The following verse embodies the spirit of peaceful co-existence and the pursuit of collective welfare and progress in a society of diversity. It lays down the fundamental principle of pluralism. ]]

Sura 2, al-Baqara, Medina 87

The Quranic text and Ali’s version

وَلِكُلٍّ وِجْهَةٌ هُوَ مُوَلِّيهَا فَاسْتَبِقُواْ الْخَيْرَاتِ ...

2:148. To each is a goal to which Allah turns him; then strive together (as in a race) toward all that is good.

C153. The question is how we are to construe the pronoun, huwa, in the original. The alternative translation would be;

"To each is a goal to which he turns."

The simile of life being a race in which we all zealously run forward to the one goal of good, may be applied individually and nationally. This supplies another argument of the Ka'bah Qiblah, viz., the unity of goal, with diversity of races, traditions and temperaments.

... أَيْنَ مَا تَكُونُواْ يَأْتِ بِكُمُ اللّهُ جَمِيعًا ...

Wheresoever ye are, Allah will bring you together.

... إِنَّ اللّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ﴿١٤٨﴾

For Allah hath power over all things.

Transliteration Wa likulliw wijhatun huwa muwalliha_ fastabiqul khaira_t(i), ainama_ taku_nu_ ya'ti bikumulla_hu jami'a_(n), innalla_ha 'ala_ kulli syai'in qadir(un).

Other versions

2: 148

Aasd for, every community faces a direction of its own, of which He is the focal point. [note 123] Vie, therefore, with one another in doing good works. Wherever you may be, God will gather you all unto Himself: for, verily, God has the power to will anything.

Pickthall And each one hath a goal toward which he turneth; so vie with one another in good works. Where so ever ye may be, Allah will bring you all together. Lo! Allah is Able to do all things.

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[Asad’s note 123: Lit., “everyone has a direction………..”, etc. Almost all of the classical commentators, from the Companions of the Prophet downwards, interpret this as a reference to the various religious communities and their different modes of “turning towards God” in worship. Ibn Kathir, in his commentary on this verse, stresses its inner resemblance to the phrase occurring in 5:48 : “unto every one of you have We appointed a [different] law and way of life.” The statement that “every community faces a direction its own” in its endeavor to express its submission to God implies, firstly, that at various times and in various circumstances man’s desire to approach God in prayer has taken different forms………………….does not represent the essence of faith as such: for, as the Quran says, “true piety does not consist in turning your faces towards the east or the west” (2:177), and, “God’s is the east and the west” (2:115 and 142). Consequently, the revelation which established the Kabah as the qiblah of the Muslims should not be a matter of contention for people of other faiths, nor a cause of their disbelief in the truth of the Quranic revelation as such (Manar II 21f) ]