How we find the qibla
The qibla is the direction of the Kaaba in Makkah. We give it as a compass bearing from true north, computed along the shortest path over the Earth (the great circle), which is the direction the qibla points from anywhere in the world.
The calculation
We take the Kaaba at 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E and compute the initial great-circle bearing from your city's coordinates (or your own, if you share your location) to that point, together with the distance. Our tests check the result against published bearings, for example about 271° from Lucknow, 119° from London and 58.5° from New York.
True north and your compass
A phone compass points to magnetic north, which differs from true north by an amount that depends on where you are and changes slowly over the years. The live compass corrects for it using the World Magnetic Model 2025, the model published by the US and UK geological agencies, valid until 2029. Phone sensors are also disturbed by metal, magnets and electrical wiring nearby, so hold the phone flat, away from them, and recalibrate it by moving it in a figure of eight if the reading drifts.
Checking with the sun
On most days there are moments when the sun stands exactly in the qibla direction, or exactly behind it, so that your shadow points to the qibla. Each city page gives today's moments when the sun is high enough to use. Twice a year, the sun passes directly over the Kaaba at midday in Makkah (Rasd al-Qibla): in 2026 on 28 May at 12:18 PM Makkah time and 15 July at 12:27 PM Makkah time. At that moment, wherever the sun is up, facing it is facing the qibla.
Last updated 2026-10-07.