How to Find the Qibla Direction: Compass, Shadow and Phone Methods
The Qibla is the direction Muslims face when praying, towards the Kaaba in Makkah. Finding it is simple once you know the options. This guide covers the most reliable ways.
What "direction" means on a round earth
The shortest path between two places on the globe is a great circle. The Qibla bearing is the starting direction of the great circle that leads from you to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), measured clockwise from true north. From London it is about 119° (roughly south-east). From Karachi it is about 268° (almost due west). From New York it is about 58° (north-east), and from Sydney about 277° (west). These can surprise people, because on a flat map the line looks different, but the great circle is the correct shortest direction used by almost every scholar today.
Method 1: a compass
- Look up the Qibla bearing for your city, which is on every city page on prayertim.com under "Qibla direction".
- Hold a magnetic compass flat, away from metal, magnets and electronics.
- Turn until the needle points to the magnetic north, then rotate to the bearing.
A magnetic compass shows magnetic north, which differs from true north by a few degrees (the magnetic declination). In many places the difference is small, but in some it can be 10° or more, so add or subtract the local declination for accuracy.
Method 2: a phone app or the sun
Phone compasses use a magnetometer and need calibration, usually by moving the phone in a figure-eight. Keep the phone away from metal, and move a few metres from walls and speakers. As a cross-check you can use the sun: at solar noon in the northern hemisphere in summer the sun is south of you, so a shadow points north; combined with the bearing it gives a quick sanity check.
Method 3: the Kaaba shadow method
Twice a year the sun passes directly overhead at the Kaaba, around May 27 or 28 at about 12:18 Makkah time, and July 15 or 16 at about 12:27 Makkah time (9:18 and 9:27 UTC). At that moment, anywhere on earth where the sun is above the horizon, a vertical pole's shadow points exactly away from the Kaaba, so the direction of the pole's base from the shadow tip is the Qibla. This is an excellent way to mark or check the Qibla of a mosque or home, because it does not depend on compasses or calculators. Check the exact date and time for your year, since they shift by a day with leap years.
Indoors and while travelling
- In a mosque, follow the mihrab, which has been set by the community.
- In a hotel, many rooms have a Qibla marker on the ceiling or desk; if not, use the bearing and a compass.
- On a plane or train, face the best estimate you can and pray; see praying while travelling.
Small errors are acceptable
Most scholars accept that if you make a sincere effort to face the Qibla and are a few degrees off, your prayer is valid. Where the exact direction cannot be known, you pray to the best of your ability. If you later find that you were mistaken, you do not need to repeat the prayer in the view of many scholars; ask your imam for your school's view.