Find the Qibla direction from your location
This Qibla direction finder works out the exact direction of the Kaaba in Makkah from wherever you are, and on a phone turns into a live Qibla compass with an arrow that points the way. Choose your city, type coordinates or tap Use my location, and you get the bearing in degrees from true north, the same direction as read on a magnetic compass, the compass point and the distance to the Kaaba.
Phones measure magnetic north, which can differ from true north by more than ten degrees. The page corrects for this automatically with the official World Magnetic Model 2025, so the arrow is right in New York or Sydney as well as in Delhi or Dubai. There is also a way to check the result with the Sun, and everything is calculated on your device — your location is never sent anywhere.
How to use the Qibla Direction Finder
- Pick your City, type your latitude and longitude, or press Use my location and allow location access.
- Read the Qibla direction: degrees clockwise from true north (for maps), the value for a magnetic compass, and the distance.
- On a phone, press Start Qibla compass (on iPhone tap Allow), hold the phone flat away from metal and turn until it says “Facing the Qibla ✓” and the green arrow points straight up.
- If the reading jumps, calibrate by moving the phone in a slow figure-of-eight.
- On a laptop, line the dial up with a real compass by dragging it, or use the Check with the Sun date.
Qibla Direction Finder features
Exact great-circle bearing
The initial bearing of the shortest path over the globe to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), the method used by Islamic authorities and modern Qibla apps.
Live Qibla arrow
Uses the phone’s magnetometer (iPhone compass heading or Android absolute orientation), with tilt correction, smoothing and “turn left/right” guidance.
Automatic magnetic correction
Declination from the World Magnetic Model 2025, verified against NOAA’s official test values. You can override it.
City list and GPS
Hundreds of cities including Makkah, Madinah, Delhi, Mumbai, Karachi, Lahore, Dhaka, Dubai, Istanbul, London and New York, or your exact position.
Sun check
Shows the next moment the Sun stands directly above the Kaaba, in your time zone, and whether it is above your horizon then.
How the Qibla direction is calculated
The Qibla is the direction of the shortest route over the Earth’s surface — a great circle — from your position to the Kaaba. Its starting bearing is θ = atan2(sin Δλ · cos φK, cos φ · sin φK − sin φ · cos φK · cos Δλ), where φ is your latitude, φK = 21.4225° the Kaaba’s, and Δλ the difference in longitude. Because the Earth is round, the result can surprise you on a flat map: from North America the Qibla is to the north-east, not the south-east.
A compass needle points to magnetic north. To turn the true bearing into a compass reading, the page subtracts the local magnetic declination (east positive) from WMM2025, the model published by NOAA and the British Geological Survey for 2025–2029.
| City | Qibla (true) | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Delhi | 266.6° (W) | 3,835 km |
| Mumbai | 280.1° (W) | 3,452 km |
| Karachi | 267.7° (W) | 2,800 km |
| Dhaka | 277.6° (W) | 5,172 km |
| Dubai | 258.2° (WSW) | 1,631 km |
| Jakarta | 295.1° (WNW) | 7,920 km |
| London | 119.0° (ESE) | 4,794 km |
| New York | 58.5° (ENE) | 10,306 km |
Checking the Qibla with the Sun
Twice a year the Sun passes directly over the Kaaba at Makkah’s noon — around 27–28 May at about 09:18 UTC and 15–16 July at about 09:27 UTC. At that moment, anywhere the Sun is up, the shadow of a vertical pole points exactly away from the Qibla, so facing the Sun means facing the Kaaba. This classic method (rasd al-qibla) needs no compass at all. The page calculates the exact minute for the year with the Meeus solar position and converts it to your time zone.
Getting a reliable reading
- Stand away from steel beams, cars, speakers and other electronics, and take off a magnetic phone case.
- Hold the phone flat; tilting it far changes the reading to the camera direction.
- Compare with the mihrab of a nearby mosque or a landmark whose direction you know.
- For prayer times at the same place, see the prayer times page; for a plain compass, the online compass.
Qibla Direction Finder FAQ
How do I find the Qibla direction on my phone?
Open this page, choose your location, press Start Qibla compass and turn while holding the phone flat. When the green arrow points straight up and the page says “Facing the Qibla”, you are facing the Kaaba.
What is the Qibla direction from Delhi?
About 266.6° from true north — just south of due west — and about 265° on a magnetic compass. The distance to the Kaaba is about 3,835 km.
Why does the Qibla point north-east from America?
The shortest route over a globe from North America to Makkah curves north over the Atlantic, so the starting direction is north-east (about 58° from New York). Flat maps make this look wrong, but the great-circle direction is the one used by mosques there.
Is this Qibla compass accurate?
The calculated bearing is exact for the coordinates. The live arrow is only as good as the phone’s compass — usually within about 5° after calibration, worse near metal — so confirm it against a mosque or landmark when you can.
Does it work on a laptop?
The bearing, distance and Sun check do. Most laptops have no compass sensor, so line the dial up with a real compass, or use the Sun method.
Is my location stored?
No. Location is read only when you press Use my location, used on your device for the calculation and never uploaded.