Q:
“If Ishmael and Abraham made the Mecca box why didn’t any other prophet bow towards it ….just Muhammad ??”

A:

This is a great dawah question. Let me give you a well-structured response.

Response to: “If Abraham & Ishmael built the Kaaba, why did only Muhammad pray toward it?”
This question contains a false premise — the assumption that no prophet before Muhammad (ﷺ) faced the Kaaba. The historical and scriptural record says otherwise.

1. The Kaaba Was the Original Qibla of All Prophets
   The Quran establishes that the Kaaba (Bayt Allah) is the first house of worship ever established for mankind:
   “Indeed, the first House established for the people is that at Makkah — blessed and a guidance for the worlds.”
   — Quran 3:96
   This means every prophet from Adam (عليه السلام) onward was connected to this sacred direction of worship. The Kaaba was not invented by Abraham — it was restored and rebuilt by him and Ishmael upon ancient foundations.
2. All Prophets Faced the Kaaba — The Record Was Simply Not Preserved
   The Biblical tradition does not comprehensively document the Qibla direction of every prophet. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. The Torah and Bible we have today are not fully preserved — the Quran itself attests to textual alteration (tahrif) of earlier scriptures.
   The fact that the direction of prayer of Prophets like Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and others is not recorded in the Bible does not mean they didn’t face it.
3. The Jerusalem Direction Was Temporarily Adopted — Then Corrected
   This is actually a key historical point many miss:
   ∙ When the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) first began his mission in Mecca, he prayed toward the Kaaba.
   ∙ After migrating to Madinah, the Qibla was temporarily changed to Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis) — likely as a mercy to make the message accessible to the People of the Book.
   ∙ After approximately 16–17 months, Allah commanded the change back to Mecca (Quran 2:144).
   This “change back” is itself proof that Mecca was the original direction — Jerusalem was the temporary deviation, not the other way around.
4. Prophet Ibrahim (عليه السلام) Himself Prayed There
   The Quran tells us Abraham and Ishmael literally stood at the Kaaba and prayed while building it:
   “And when Abraham was raising the foundations of the House, and Ishmael with him, saying: ‘Our Lord, accept this from us…’”
   — Quran 2:127
   Abraham also called all of humanity to make Hajj to this very spot (Quran 22:27). He didn’t just build a structure — he instituted worship there. Every Hajj ritual performed to this day traces back to Abraham’s actions.
5. The Deeper Question Being Assumed
   The questioner seems to assume: “If it were truly sacred, all prophets would visibly, documentably face it.”
   But this confuses documentation with reality. Consider:
   ∙ Prophets like Hud, Salih, Shu’ayb, and others are barely mentioned in the Bible at all — does that mean they didn’t exist?
   ∙ The chain of prophets sent specifically to the Arabian/Semitic lineage of Ishmael is simply not recorded in biblical literature, which focused on the Israelite prophetic tradition.

Summary Points for Your Conversation Claim Reality “Only Muhammad prayed toward Mecca” False — Abraham & Ishmael prayed there while building it “No prophet faced the Kaaba” The Bible simply doesn’t document every prophet’s Qibla “Kaaba was Muhammad’s invention” Quran 3:96 calls it the first and oldest house of worship “Jerusalem was always the direction” Mecca was original; Jerusalem was a temporary change in early Islam

The Kaaba is not a “box Muhammad invented.” It is the most ancient sanctuary on earth, built by the father of prophets, Abraham (عليه السلام), restored to its rightful place of worship by the final prophet — Muhammad (ﷺ). The continuity is perfect — it is the questioner’s sources that have the gap, not Islamic history.