Qibla finder: How Muslims in UAE can know right direction of Kaaba for prayer

There are several apps that can help — however, most scholars agree that slight errors in direction would be forgiven

Yasmin Hussein

Published: Fri 8 Nov 2024, 6:00 AM

Last updated: Thu 21 Nov 2024, 5:40 PM

Muslims worldwide are required to face Al Masjid Al Haram or the Kaaba in the Saudi Arabian city of Makkah while praying, no matter where they are on the map.

For that reason, you may find a group of worshippers looking at shadows or checking their mobile phones to locate the 'Qibla', which literally means direction in Arabic but is commonly understood to refer to the Kaaba or direction for prayer.

So what is the story of the Qibla? And how does one determine it?

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Is Kaaba the first Qibla?

The answer is no. Before Makkah, the Quran tells the story of how Al Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem was Muslims' first Qibla. Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) and his companions prayed towards the direction of Al Aqsa in the initial days of Islam.

This Qibla changed later on though and Islam's holy book includes a direct guidance requiring all Muslims to face the Kaaba, which was built by Prophet Ibrahim.

"And from wherever you go out (for prayer), turn your face toward Al Masjid al Haram. And wherever you [believers] may be, turn your faces toward it," a verse in the second chapter of the Quran says.

Henceforth, determining Makkah's location to face it became more of a regular exercise for Muslims.

So how is modern technology helping Muslims do that today?

Google's Qibla finder

In 2017, Google announced the Qibla Finder, a web service that helps users find the right direction of the Qibla using augmented reality.

Google made it clear that its Qibla-finding service uses the location of Kaaba and the user's current location (provided by GPS or manually) to determine the most direct route between two points on the globe, also known as the great-circle distance.

It advises its users to first calibrate their devices' compass before using the service for best results. Here is a step-by-step guide for how to use it:

Type "Google Qibla finder" on the search engine's bar.
Once the page opens, choose your preferred language from a list of 17 languages, including Arabic, English, French, Hindi and Filipino, etc.

Photo: Mobile screengrab

Allow the service to access motion and orientation.
Allow it to also use your camera and your current location.
Keep moving your phone in different directions until a white circle on your screen is complete and you get a message saying, "You're facing the Qibla".
You should stand facing this exact direction to perform prayers.

Photo: Mobile screengrab

Qibla compass

Using a compass and knowing where you are approximately relative to Makkah can help you start locating the Qibla without an app or web service, so based on geographical knowledge about the Kaaba's location, the Qibla will generally be towards:

The east-southeast in North America
The southeast in Europe
The northeast in Africa
The northwest in Southeast Asia
The west in South Asia

What if Qibla's direction is wrong?

Although worshippers are required to locate the Qibla as accurately as possible before each prayer according to where they are, a Quranic verse states that "to Allah belong the east and the west, so wherever you turn yourselves or your faces there is the Face of Allah". Because of this, many scholars say that a slight deviation in the direction of the Qibla is not an issue.

Among these scholars is Nasir Badran, director-general of Saudi's Ministry of Islamic Affairs, who cites a fatwa issued by the Senior Scholars’ Council offering flexibility on this issue, saying slight errors would be forgiven.

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