Think of the sun and Ka'bah forming a vertical line in the sky, like a very high minaret over Ka'bah. When you observe the sun at these times (after converting it to your local time, see Table below), you will be facing the Ka'bah and it will be your Qibla direction. For example, if you are in Islamabad, Pakistan (+2 hours time difference from Makkah time), the local time to observe the sun would be 2:18pm on May 28, and 2:27pm on July 16.

Similarly, if you are in Nova Scotia, Canada (-6 hours time difference from Makkah time), the local time to observe the sun would be 6:18am on May 28, and 6:27am on July 16.

The following table provides the local time for several countries when one can face toward the sun to determine the Qibla. Consideration has been given for Daylight Saving Time in countries that observe it during summer (marked *). Countries with several time zones have been listed with major cities in different time zones. In North America (cities shown in color) the sun can only be seen in Northeast corridor from Providence, RI to Montreal, Quebec. For other cities in North America, the sun is not visible at noon time of Makkah, however, in those cities the sun rises a few hours later. By looking at the rising sun, one can estimate where the sun was a few hours earlier to give an approximate Qibla dirction.

To download a research paper by Dr. Kamal Abdali, please click on Qibla
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