Find the exact direction to face for prayer from anywhere on Earth. Use your current location or search a city — the compass points to the Kaaba and shows the bearing in degrees plus the distance to Makkah.
Bearing is measured from true (geographic) north. A magnetic compass may differ by the magnetic declination in your area.
The Qibla (القبلة) is the direction that Muslims face during the five daily prayers. It points toward the Kaaba — the cube-shaped structure at the centre of the Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, Saudi Arabia (coordinates 21.4225°N, 39.8262°E). Facing the Qibla unites Muslims worldwide toward a single point, no matter where they are.
This tool computes the great-circle bearing from your location to the Kaaba. A great circle is the shortest path between two points across the curved surface of the Earth — the same route aeroplanes fly. Because the Earth is a sphere, this shortest-path direction is not the same as drawing a straight line on a flat map, which is why a proper Qibla finder uses spherical trigonometry rather than a flat-map angle. The result is an angle measured clockwise from true north.
This is the most common source of confusion. The Qibla bearing is measured from true (geographic) north — the direction of the North Pole. A physical magnetic compass, however, points to magnetic north, which drifts and differs from true north by an amount called magnetic declination that depends on where you are.
| Reference | What it is |
|---|---|
| True north | The geographic North Pole. The Qibla bearing here is measured from this. |
| Magnetic north | Where a compass needle points. Offset from true north by your local declination. |
If you use your phone's compass app, most already correct for declination and show true-north headings, so you can match the bearing directly. With an old-fashioned magnetic compass, add or subtract your local declination.
The table below shows the Qibla bearing (degrees from true north) and distance to the Kaaba for cities with large Muslim populations. Use the tool above to get the exact direction for your location.
| City | Qibla bearing | Direction | Distance to Kaaba |
|---|---|---|---|
| London, UK | 118.99° | ESE | 4,583 km |
| New York, USA | 58.48° | ENE | 10,881 km |
| Toronto, Canada | 54.46° | NE | 10,459 km |
| Jakarta, Indonesia | 295.14° | WNW | 7,981 km |
| Istanbul, Turkey | 153.43° | SSE | 2,056 km |
| Cairo, Egypt | 135.01° | SE | 1,229 km |
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 292.59° | WNW | 7,569 km |
| Dubai, UAE | 233.43° | SW | 1,956 km |
| Lahore, Pakistan | 261.34° | W | 3,597 km |
| Dhaka, Bangladesh | 278.56° | W | 4,886 km |
| Chicago, USA | 48.85° | NE | 11,020 km |
| Los Angeles, USA | 23.76° | NNE | 12,848 km |
| Paris, France | 119.16° | ESE | 4,483 km |
| Sydney, Australia | 277.50° | W | 12,065 km |
These values are approximate and based on the city centre. The bearing changes slightly across a city, especially large ones. For a precise reading, use the search box above with your exact address or tap "Use my current location."
From North America, the Qibla points roughly northeast, not east or southeast as many people assume. This is because the shortest path (great-circle route) from the US or Canada to Makkah curves up over the North Atlantic. A flat map distorts this, making it look like Makkah is to the east or southeast.
From Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia), the Qibla points roughly west-northwest. From Europe and North Africa, it points south-southeast. The exact bearing depends on your coordinates, which is why a proper Qibla calculator is more reliable than guessing from a map.
It uses great-circle (spherical) trigonometry to compute the shortest-path bearing from your coordinates to the Kaaba. The result is the angle, in degrees clockwise from true north, to face for prayer.
The bearing is measured from true (geographic) north. A physical magnetic compass points to magnetic north, which differs by your local magnetic declination, so a compass app may show a slightly different angle.
Very accurate. The direction is computed with great-circle trigonometry on a spherical Earth model, not a flat map, and is returned to two decimal places — well within the precision needed to align a prayer mat.
The Kaaba is the cube-shaped building at the centre of the Masjid al-Haram in Makkah. It is the holiest site in Islam and the point every Muslim faces during prayer, which is why the Qibla is defined as the direction toward it.
Read the bearing in degrees from this tool, then open your phone's compass app and turn until it shows that heading. Most phone compasses already correct for magnetic declination, so you can match the number directly.
Yes, completely free with no signup. It runs on UmmahAPI's free Qibla API, which developers can use to add a Qibla compass to their own apps.