Al-Barâ' (may Allah be pleased with him): in Medina, he ﷺ first stayed with his mother's kin, among the Helpers.
He prayed towards Bayt al-Maqdis, Jerusalem, for sixteen or seventeen months.
Before, in Mecca, he ﷺ prayed between the two corners: the Ka'ba before him, and Jerusalem in line beyond it.
In Medina, there was no way to keep both in line. He ﷺ was commanded to face Jerusalem.
“He loved that his qibla be towards the House,” al-Barâ' says. Towards the Ka'ba.
Ibn 'Abbâs (may Allah be pleased with him): he loved the qibla of Ibrâhîm (peace be upon him), and kept looking up.
He multiplied supplication and pleading to be turned towards the Ka'ba. Then the answer came down.
We have certainly seen the turning of your face towards the sky.
So We will surely turn you to a qibla that will please you.
So turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque. And wherever you are, turn your faces towards it.
Those who were given the Scripture know well that it is the truth from their Lord.
Sixteen, or seventeen? Both counts are right; the difference is only in the counting.
Count the month of arrival and the month of the change as one, and you get sixteen; count both, seventeen.
The first prayer facing the Ka'ba was 'asr, al-Barâ' says, and some people prayed it with him.
One of them went out and passed by the people of a mosque, bowing in prayer.
“I testify by Allah: I prayed with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ facing Mecca.” They turned, as they were, towards the House.
For more than a year in Medina, every prayer faced Jerusalem. And he ﷺ kept looking up at the sky.
What was he waiting for? And how did the change reach the people, in the middle of a prayer?
Sixteen or seventeen months of looking up, a verse, and one 'asr that changed the direction of every prayer.
Tonight, before you pray, stop one breath on the qibla, and remember who chose it for you.