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What Is the Qibla? Meaning and How to Find It
The qibla is the direction of the Kaaba in Makkah, which Muslims face in prayer. Here is what the word means, how to find the qibla from anywhere, and why the answer is often not the direction a flat map suggests.
How do I find the qibla direction?
The qibla is the great-circle bearing from where you are to the Kaaba in Makkah, at 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E. A great circle is the shortest path over the surface of a sphere, and it is why the qibla from North America points north-east rather than south-east, even though Makkah looks south-east on a flat world map.
What does qibla mean?
Qibla (Arabic: قبلة) comes from the Arabic root q-b-l, which carries the sense of facing something, and the word means the direction one faces. In Islam it names one fixed direction: that of the Kaaba in Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, which Muslims face in each of the five daily prayers wherever they are in the world.
Ways to find the qibla
The quickest way is a qibla finder that uses your location, such as the one on this site, which gives the bearing in degrees from true north. Without one, take the bearing for the nearest city and apply it with a compass; or use the sun, which is due south at solar noon in the northern hemisphere and due north in the southern, to find true north and count the bearing round from it. Inside a mosque, the mihrab — the niche in the front wall — marks the qibla.
Why a flat map misleads
A flat map has to distort a sphere to lie flat, and it distorts direction along with everything else. The shortest route from New York to Makkah passes near Greenland, so the correct bearing is around 58° — north-east. Drawing a straight line on a rectangular map gives roughly east-south-east, which is wrong by a wide margin.
True north against magnetic north
A qibla bearing is given from true north, but a compass needle points to magnetic north, and the two differ by up to about 20° depending on where you are. Phone compasses are also easily disturbed by metal, magnets and nearby electronics. If a compass and a computed bearing disagree, calibrate the device and move away from metal before trusting either.
When you cannot determine it
Face the direction you judge most likely to be correct, after making a genuine effort to establish it — a compass reading, the position of the sun, or the bearing for the nearest city. This site does not issue rulings; for what is required of you when the direction is uncertain, ask a qualified scholar or your local mosque.
Common questions
What is the qibla in Islam?
The qibla is the direction of the Kaaba in Makkah. Muslims face it in prayer, so it is a different compass bearing from every place on earth: roughly north-east from New York, east-south-east from London, and west-north-west from Jakarta.
Does the qibla change depending on where I am?
Yes. It is the bearing from your position to a fixed point, so it differs everywhere. From Cairo it is roughly south-east; from Jakarta, roughly west-north-west.
Why do two qibla apps disagree?
Usually because one shows magnetic bearing and the other true bearing, or because one uses a flat-map approximation instead of a great circle.
How far is the Kaaba from me?
Each city page on this site lists the great-circle distance alongside the bearing.
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