structural:scholar_edition, information:extraction
First qibla

The historical significance of al-Aqsa Mosque in Islam is further emphasized by the fact that Muslims turned towards al-Aqsa when they prayed for a period of 16 or 17 months after migration to Medina in 624; it thus became the qibla ("direction") that Muslims faced for prayer. Muhammad later prayed towards the Kaaba in Mecca after receiving a revelation during a prayer session in the Masjid al-Qiblatayn. The qibla was relocated to the Kaaba where Muslims have been directed to pray ever since.