Qibla Direction

How to use the Qibla compass

1. Allow location, or search for your city, so Minar knows where you are.
2. On a phone, allow motion and orientation when asked, then hold the phone flat.
3. Turn until the needle points to the Kaaba marker. Minar tells you when you are lined up.
4. Keep away from metal, magnets and electronics, which pull a phone compass off by many degrees.

On a computer there is no compass: use the bearing in degrees with a real compass, or line it up with a known direction such as a street running north.

How the direction is worked out

The Qibla is the direction of the Kaaba in Makkah along the shortest path over the Earth (a great circle). Minar computes this bearing in degrees clockwise from true north from your coordinates. Phone compasses follow magnetic north, which can differ from true north by 10 to 20 degrees in much of Canada, so the live needle is a guide: for exact alignment, check the bearing against a map. Your location is used on your device only.

That is why the Qibla from North America points north-east, not south-east as a flat map suggests: the shortest path to Makkah curves over the Atlantic towards Europe.

Qibla direction from major cities

Every city page has its own bearing: find yours under prayer times by city.