Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states: “The Prophet’s interdict against looking towards sky while praying is because of Islam’s concept of Allah’s transcendence. We are not allowed to point to Allah as if He were located in any palpable direction. That is why the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has prohibited such an act. But if a person didn’t know this prohibition and did it unwilfully, he/she is excused, for Allah does not take us to task for our inadvertent slips and trespasses.
In Prayer, we are ordered to look to the place where we place our forehead. This is because of the fact that such a posture is most conducive to a feeling of true humility while standing before the Lord of the worlds. It should also help us to be more focused in Prayer.