Qibla Direction
Which way is the qibla?
The qibla is the direction of the Kaaba in Makkah. This tool computes the exact bearing from your location and shows it on a compass. Pick a city or use your location — no download needed.
No cities match that search. Try a shorter name, or use your location.
Choose a city or share your location to see your qibla bearing and the distance to Makkah. Your choice stays on this device.
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Static view: the needle marks the qibla on a fixed compass rose. For a live rotating compass, tap “Enable compass” (needs your permission on iOS) and hold your phone flat.
How is qibla direction calculated?
Qibla apps do not guess an angle — they compute it. The qibla is the great-circle bearing from your coordinates to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E). A great circle is the shortest path between two points on a sphere, and its initial bearing is what a compass would read if you set off toward Makkah.
The maths is standard spherical trigonometry: the formula combines your latitude, Makkah's latitude, and the longitude difference, and returns an angle from 0° to 360° measured clockwise from true north. This page also computes the great-circle distance to Makkah using the haversine formula with an Earth radius of 6,371 km.
Because the Earth is a sphere, the "straight line" on a flat map is not the same as the great-circle path. That is why the qibla from New York is about 59° — northeast — even though Makkah lies far to the east on most flat maps.
Qibla for major cities
True-north bearings and great-circle distances, computed from each city's coordinates:
| City | Qibla bearing | Distance to Makkah |
|---|---|---|
| New York City | 58.5° from N | 10,306 km / 6,404 mi |
| Los Angeles | 23.9° from N | 13,424 km / 8,341 mi |
| Chicago | 48.7° from N | 11,146 km / 6,926 mi |
| Houston | 45.5° from N | 12,574 km / 7,813 mi |
| Toronto | 54.6° from N | 10,496 km / 6,522 mi |
| London | 119.0° from N | 4,794 km / 2,979 mi |
| Paris | 119.2° from N | 4,496 km / 2,794 mi |
| Berlin | 136.7° from N | 4,130 km / 2,566 mi |
| Istanbul | 151.6° from N | 2,405 km / 1,494 mi |
| Cairo | 136.1° from N | 1,287 km / 800 mi |
| Lagos | 63.3° from N | 4,251 km / 2,642 mi |
| Nairobi | 7.2° from N | 2,547 km / 1,582 mi |
| Karachi | 267.7° from N | 2,800 km / 1,740 mi |
| Lahore | 260.4° from N | 3,598 km / 2,236 mi |
| New Delhi | 266.6° from N | 3,835 km / 2,383 mi |
| Dhaka | 277.6° from N | 5,172 km / 3,214 mi |
| Jakarta | 295.2° from N | 7,920 km / 4,921 mi |
| Kuala Lumpur | 292.5° from N | 6,974 km / 4,333 mi |
| Sydney | 277.5° from N | 13,236 km / 8,225 mi |
| Dubai | 258.2° from N | 1,631 km / 1,014 mi |
Why compasses are wrong indoors
A phone compass is a magnetic sensor, and buildings are full of magnets you cannot see: steel beams, rebar in concrete walls, electrical wiring, speakers, and the phone's own electronics. Any of these can bend the local magnetic field and pull the reading off by tens of degrees. The effect is strongest indoors and inside vehicles.
There is a second, constant error even outdoors: a magnetic compass reads magnetic north, while qibla bearings are stated from true north (the geographic pole). The angle between the two, called declination, varies by location — several degrees in most of the world, over twenty in some places — and drifts over the years. A serious qibla compass or app corrects for declination automatically.
Practical fixes: step away from metal and electronics, hold the phone flat and steady, and recalibrate by moving it in a figure-eight if readings jump. When in doubt, the static true-north bearing above is the reliable reference, and your mosque's prayer rows are the most reliable qibla of all.
Frequently asked questions
Is the qibla always east?
No. The qibla is the great-circle direction from your location to the Kaaba, so it depends on where you are. From much of North America it is roughly northeast; from the UK and France roughly southeast; from Indonesia and Australia roughly west. Only from locations due north or south of Makkah is it a simple cardinal direction.
Why does my phone compass point the wrong way indoors?
Steel beams, reinforced concrete, wiring, and electronics distort the magnetic field near the sensor, sometimes by tens of degrees. Phone compasses also read magnetic north, not true north, and need a declination correction. For best results step away from metal and large electronics, or use the static true-north bearing this page shows.
What is the difference between true north and magnetic north?
True north is the geographic North Pole; magnetic north is where a compass needle points, and it sits apart from it. The angle between them, called declination, varies by location and changes over the years. Qibla bearings are always given from true north, so a compass must be corrected for declination first.
How accurate is this qibla finder?
The bearing itself is spherical trigonometry and is accurate to a fraction of a degree for a given position. Practical accuracy depends on how precisely your location is known and how level and steady your phone is. Over typical prayer distances, a degree or two of error is far smaller than the size of a prayer row.
Does the qibla direction change over time?
For a fixed location, no. The bearing from one place to the Kaaba never changes. It only changes when you move to a different location, which is why the tool recalculates from your position rather than showing a single universal angle.
Related tools and reading
A qibla compass in your pocket
Niyat's compass works offline and remembers your spot.
Download on the App Store Google Play