QIBLA FINDER · LIVE COMPASS
Qibla Direction from Your Locationاتجاه القبلة من موقعك
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How to find the Qibla with your phone
On a phone the dial turns with you, so the Kaaba mark always points at the Qibla. On a laptop there is no compass sensor: use the bearing above with any compass, or the sun.
- 1
Set your place
Tap “Use my location” and allow it once, or search your city. The bearing is calculated from those coordinates.
- 2
Turn on the live compass
Allow motion and orientation access. Hold the phone flat, away from metal, magnets and speakers. If asked, move it in a figure 8 to calibrate.
- 3
Turn until it lines up
Turn your body until the Kaaba mark sits under the top marker and the phone vibrates. You are now facing the Qibla.
Find the Qibla without a compass
No signal, no sensor, or the needle is jumping? Three ways that only need the sky.
With the sun
The sun is due south at Dhuhr in the northern hemisphere. Face it, then turn right by your bearing minus 180° (Lahore: turn 80.4° right).
With the moon
A full moon is roughly opposite the sun: near due south around midnight. Use it the same way as the sun at Dhuhr. Crescents are less reliable.
Rasd al-Qibla
Twice a year the sun stands directly over the Kaaba. At that minute every upright pole’s shadow points away from the Qibla.
Next · 12:17 PM Makkah time · 2:17 PM in Pakistan
Understanding the Qibla
What is the Qibla?
The Qibla (قِبْلَة) is the direction of the Kaaba in Al-Masjid al-Haram, Makkah, that Muslims face in every prayer. Facing it is a condition of a valid salah, and it is also the direction for dua, the adhan and burial.
- Arabic
- قبلة · from q-b-l, “to face”
- Points to
- The Kaaba, Al-Masjid al-Haram
- Location
- Makkah, Saudi Arabia · 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E
- Set in
- 2 AH, Madinah (Quran 2:144)
- First Qibla
- Bayt al-Maqdis, Jerusalem
- Measured as
- Bearing from true north along a great circle
- Marked by
- The mihrab and Qibla wall of every mosque
How accurate is the Qibla direction?
- The bearing is exact for the coordinates used: great-circle formula, Kaaba at 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E.
- The live compass corrects to true north. Phones measure magnetic north; we add the local magnetic declination from the World Magnetic Model.
- Phone sensors drift a few degrees. Metal, cars, magnets and phone cases make it worse. Calibrate, then check with the sun when you can.
- A city search uses the city centre. Inside one city the Qibla changes by well under 1°.
Qibla questions
How do I find the Qibla direction from my location?
Tap “Use my location” at the top of this page and allow it. The bearing, distance and compass appear at once. On a phone, turn on the live compass and turn until the Kaaba mark is at the top.
Which direction is the Qibla from Pakistan?
West, a little to the south: from 254° in Peshawar to 268° in Karachi. From Lahore it is 260.3°, about 10° south of due west.
Why does my phone compass show a different direction?
Most compass apps show magnetic north. The Qibla bearing is from true north. Our live compass corrects for this; other apps may not. Nearby metal also bends the needle.
Can I find the Qibla on a laptop?
Yes. Laptops have no compass sensor, so the page shows the bearing and the path on a map. Use the bearing with any compass, or the sun at Dhuhr.
What is Rasd al-Qibla?
The two moments a year, around 27–28 May and 15–16 July, when the sun is directly over the Kaaba. Shadows then point away from the Qibla wherever the sun is up.
What does the word Qibla mean?
Qibla comes from the Arabic root q-b-l (ق ب ل), meaning to face: it is “the direction one faces”. In Islamic law it means the Kaaba in Makkah. In Urdu it is قبلہ, also called Qibla rukh.
What is the Kaaba?
The cube-shaped building at the centre of Al-Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, toward which every Muslim prays. The Quran calls it the first House set up for people (3:96) and describes Ibrahim and Ismail raising its foundations (2:127). The Black Stone is set in its eastern corner, and the kiswah, a black cloth embroidered in gold, covers it.
When did the Qibla change from Jerusalem to the Kaaba?
In Madinah the Muslims first prayed toward Bayt al-Maqdis in Jerusalem for sixteen or seventeen months (Sahih al-Bukhari 40). The Qibla changed to the Kaaba in the second year after the Hijrah, with Surah Al-Baqarah 2:142–150: “So turn your face toward Al-Masjid al-Haram” (2:144). The mosque linked with the change is Masjid al-Qiblatayn, “the mosque of the two Qiblas”.
Is facing the Qibla required in prayer?
Yes. Facing the Qibla is a condition for a valid salah (2:144, 2:150). Someone who can see the Kaaba faces the building itself; someone far away faces its direction. When unsure, ask, look for a mihrab or make your best effort; if you tried and later learn the direction was off, the majority view is that the prayer stands. Exceptions: voluntary prayer while riding on a journey, prayer in fear, and illness that stops you turning.
A short overview, reviewed by [reviewer]. For your own case, ask a scholar of your madhhab.
Today’s times for your city: prayer times.
Where else do Muslims face the Qibla?
When making dua, calling the adhan and iqamah, in burial (the body on its right side facing the Qibla) and, as a recommendation, when slaughtering an animal and sleeping on the right side. One does not face or turn one’s back to the Qibla when relieving oneself in the open.
What is the mihrab in a mosque?
The niche in the Qibla wall, the wall of the mosque that faces Makkah. The imam stands in it and the rows run parallel to the wall. Some old mosques face slightly differently from a modern calculation; scholars generally say to pray with the mosque’s rows.
Why does the Qibla line curve on a map?
The shortest path over the round Earth is a great circle, which looks curved on a flat map. That is why the Qibla from New York is north-east (58.5°), from London south-east (119.0°) and from Jakarta north-west (295.2°).
How did Muslims find the Qibla before compasses?
From the 9th century, Muslim astronomers worked it out with spherical trigonometry and tables of city coordinates; al-Biruni wrote a full book on it. Travellers and builders also used the rising and setting points of the sun and stars.