☪️ Qibla Direction Finder
Find the great-circle direction to the Kaaba in Mecca from your location, in degrees from true North.
Your Location
Qibla Direction
This shows the shortest great-circle direction to the Kaaba. When using a physical compass, note that magnetic North differs from true North (magnetic declination) and varies by location, so calibrate accordingly.
How the Qibla Direction Is Calculated
The Qibla is the direction Muslims face during prayer, toward the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest path between two points is a great-circle route, not a straight line on a flat map.
Formula
Normalize θ to 0°–360° (this is the Qibla angle measured clockwise from true North)
Great-circle distance (Haversine):
a = sin²(Δlat/2) + cos(lat₁) × cos(lat₂) × sin²(Δlong/2)
distance = 2R × atan2(√a, √(1−a)), where R = 6371 km
Here lat₁/long₁ are your coordinates, lat₂/long₂ are the Kaaba's coordinates (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), and Δlong = long₂ − long₁.
Worked Example
For New York City (40.7128° N, 74.0060° W), applying the great-circle bearing formula to the Kaaba's coordinates gives a Qibla direction of 58.5° from true North (ENE), at a great-circle distance of roughly 10,306 km. For comparison, London (51.5074° N, 0.1278° W) works out to a bearing of 119.0° (ESE) and a distance of about 4,794 km — showing how both the direction and distance change substantially with location, since the shortest path curves along the globe rather than following a constant compass heading.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why doesn't the Qibla direction look like a straight line on a flat map?
Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest path between two points (the great-circle route) often looks curved on a flat, rectangular map projection even though it's the most direct path in reality.
How accurate is this Qibla direction?
The bearing calculation is mathematically precise for the coordinates entered. Real-world accuracy depends on how precisely you know your own location and on correctly calibrating any physical compass you use, accounting for magnetic declination.
What is magnetic declination?
Magnetic declination is the difference between true North (used in this calculation) and magnetic North (what a compass needle points to). It varies by location and changes slowly over time, so a compass may need adjustment to align with the calculated true-North bearing.