Find the Qibla with the compass and the sun
Choose your city to see its Qibla bearing and its distance to the Kaaba. Turn your phone into a live compass, or let the sun itself show you the way.
The Qibla of your city
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Measured clockwise from true North along the shortest path over the Earth, from the city's coordinates in our 10,000-city table.
Live compass
Lay your phone flat, then press the button.
Calibrate first: move the phone a few times in a figure of eight, away from metal.
Phone compasses are disturbed by metal, magnets, speakers, cars and reinforced concrete. Check the result with the sun method below.
A phone compass points to magnetic North, but the bearing above is measured from true North. The difference is the magnetic declination of your place, usually a few degrees.
The compass and your location are read only after you press a button, and they never leave your phone.
The sun shows the Qibla
On many days the sun stands exactly in the Qibla direction of your city, or exactly behind it. At that minute you need no compass at all.
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The sun is exactly in the Qibla direction
Face the sun: you are facing the Qibla.
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Your shadow points to the Qibla
The sun is behind you: face the way your shadow falls.
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Computed for the city's coordinates, to the minute, with the sun at least 3° above the horizon. Times are the city's local clock.
When the sun stands over the Kaaba
Twice a year, around 27–28 May and 15–16 July, the sun passes exactly overhead the Kaaba at Dhuhr time in Makkah. At that minute, wherever the sun is up, it stands in the Qibla direction.
Twice more, around the nights of 28–29 November and 13–14 January in Makkah, it passes overhead the point on the opposite side of the Earth. Then every shadow points toward the Kaaba.
- Makkah time
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- Your city
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Shadows point away from the Kaaba: face the sun.
- Makkah time
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- Your city
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Shadows point toward the Kaaba: face the way they fall.
How to use it
- A little before the time, stand a stick, a pen or a plumb line upright on level ground in the sun.
- Sun over the Kaaba: at that minute the shadow points away from the Kaaba. The Qibla is toward the sun.
- Sun over the opposite point: at that minute the shadow points toward the Kaaba. The Qibla is along the shadow.
- Mark the line on the ground or note a landmark on it, and use it at any time.
All the dates from 2026 to 2030
| Event | Date in Makkah | Makkah time | UTC | Your city |
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Computed from the position of the sun, to the minute. Makkah time is UTC+3 all year.
Watches that find the Qibla for you
These AL-HARAMEEN azan watches show the Qibla direction automatically.
HA-6104Auto Qibla Direction
HA-6110Auto Qibla Direction
HA-6117Auto Qibla Direction
HA-6118Auto Qibla Direction
HA-6468Auto Qibla Direction
HA-6501Auto Qibla Direction
AL-HARAMEEN desk azan clocks show the Qibla angle from North for the city you choose.