Qibla Finder

How we calculate the Qibla

We calculate the Qibla as the great-circle (shortest-path) initial bearing from your coordinates to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), measured clockwise from true north. It's the direction you'd face to travel to Makkah along the shortest route over the Earth's surface.

The calculation itself is exact. What limits the arrow is your phone's compass, which shows magnetic north. We correct it with the magnetic declination at your location from the World Magnetic Model. Without that correction, the arrow could be off by several degrees, and by more than 10° in parts of North America.

Your position matters far less. From New York, a location error of 5 mi (8 km) changes the angle by less than 0.1°. Close to Makkah, the same error matters much more.

Using the compass arrow

1. Allow location access, then tap Start compass if the button appears.
2. Hold the phone flat, away from metal and magnets.
3. Turn the way the screen says, such as Turn right 12°, until the green line points straight up to the marker at the top. The screen then shows You're facing the Qibla.
4. If the arrow jumps or seems wrong, move the phone in a figure-eight to calibrate it and try again. The online compass page explains what disturbs the sensor.

You can also skip location access: tap Or enter an address instead and type your city, address or coordinates. If access is blocked, the search box appears on its own. The angle is then calculated for that point.

Most laptops have no compass sensor, so the page shows a QR code to open it on your phone. You can also use the angle. Find true north from a known landmark or a straight street on the map, then turn clockwise by the degrees shown.

A hiking compass points to magnetic north, so correct for the declination first. In New York, magnetic north is about 12.5° west of true north, so the Qibla reads about 71° on a hiking compass instead of 58.5°.

Why the direction may look surprising

On a flat map, Makkah seems to lie south-east of North America, but the shortest route over the globe heads north-east, across the Atlantic. From New York, the great-circle Qibla is about 58°, which is north-east. The line on our map curves because the map is flat and the Earth is not.

Some communities use other conventions; for practice questions, consult your local mosque.