Yet if wa-la-in the lām is for oaths you should bring to those who have been given the Scripture every sign about your truthfulness in the matter of the direction of prayer they will not follow your direction out of obduracy and you are not a follower of their direction this is a categorical negation of his the Prophet’s desire that they become Muslims and of their desire that he return to their direction of prayer; neither are they the Jews and the Christians followers of one another’s direction. If you were to follow their whims the ones to which they summon you after the knowledge the revelation that has come to you then you if hypothetically you were to follow them will surely be among the evildoers.
- 2:145145
وَلَئِنْ أَتَيْتَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ بِكُلِّ آيَةٍ مَا تَبِعُوا قِبْلَتَكَ ۚ وَمَا أَنْتَ بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَتَهُمْ ۚ وَمَا بَعْضُهُمْ بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَةَ بَعْضٍ ۚ وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ ۙ إِنَّكَ إِذًا لَمِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
Even though you bring all the proof to the people of the Book they will not face the direction you turn to, nor you theirs, nor will they follow each other's direction. And if you follow their whims after all the knowledge that has reached you, then surely you will be among transgressors.
- common.revelation-Medinan
- common.hizb : 9