The Qibla, also transliterated as Qiblah, Qibleh, Kiblah, Kıble or Kibla, is the direction
that should be faced when a Muslim prays during salat. It is fixed as the direction of the
Kaaba in Mecca. Most mosques contain a wall niche, known as mihrab, that indicates the
Qiblah. Most multifaith prayer rooms will also contain a Qibla, although usually less
standardized in appearance than one would find within a mosque.
Muslims all praying towards the same point is traditionally considered to symbolize the
unity of all Muslims worldwide under Law of God.
The Qiblah has importance beyond salaat and plays a part in various ceremonies. The head
of an animal that is slaughtered using halal methods is usually aligned with the Qiblah.
After death, Muslims are usually buried with the body at right angles to the Qibla and
the face turned right towards the direction of the Qiblah. Thus, archaeology can indicate
an Islamic necropolis if no other signs are present.
History
According to the traditional Muslim view, the Qiblah originally faced the Noble Sanctuary
in Jerusalem. This Qiblah was used for over 13 years, from 610 CE until 623 CE. Seventeen
months after the Islamic prophet Muhammad's 622 CE arrival in Medina – the date is given
as 11 February 624 – the Qiblah became oriented towards the Kaaba in Mecca. According to traditional
accounts from Muhammad's companions, the change happened very suddenly during the noon prayer
in Medina, in a mosque now known as Masjid al-Qiblatain. Muhammad was leading the prayer
when he received revelations from God instructing him to take the Kaaba as the Qiblah. According
to the traditional accounts contained in the hadith and sira, Muhammad, who had been facing
Jerusalem, upon receiving this revelation, immediately turned around to face Mecca, and
those praying behind him also did so. Some have claimed that the Qur'an does not
identify or allude to Jerusalem as being the first Qiblah and that the practise of facing
Jerusalem is only mentioned in traditional biographies of Muhammad and hadith collections.
There is also disagreement as to when the practice started and for how long it lasted.
Some sources say the Jerusalem Qiblah was used for a period of between sixteen to eighteen
months. The Jewish custom of facing Jerusalem for prayer may have influenced the Muslim
Qiblah. Others surmise that the use of Jerusalem as the direction of prayer was to either induce
the Jews of Medina to convert to Islam or to "win over their hearts." When relations
with the Jews soured, Muhammad changed the Qiblah towards Mecca. Another reason given
why the Qiblah was changed is that Jews viewed the use of Jerusalem as signalling the Muslims'
intention of joining their religion. It was changed to discredit this assumption. Others
state that it was changed because Muhammad was angered by that city or its people, and
not because of his conflict with the Jews. The Qiblah, for any point of reference on
the Earth, is the direction of the Kaaba. Some Muslims from North America determine
this direction using a rhumb line, while some Muslims use a great circle. In Muslim religious
practice, supplicants must face this direction in prayer. Muslims do not worship the Kaaba
or its contents; the Kaaba is simply a focal point for prayer.
In ancient times, Muslims travelling abroad used an astrolabe to find the Qiblah.
Cheraman Juma Masjid is a mosque in the south Indian state of Kerala. Believed to be built
in 7th century CE by Malik Bin Deenar, it is thought to be the oldest mosque in India,
and the second oldest mosque in the world to offer Jumu'ah prayers. Constructed during
the lifetime of Muhammad, the bodies of some of his original followers are said to be buried
there. Unlike other mosques in Kerala state, which face westwards, this mosque faces eastwards.
Qibla determinations
From whencesoever Thou startest forth, turn Thy face in the direction of the sacred Mosque;
that is indeed the truth from the Lord. And Allah is not unmindful of what ye do. So from
whencesoever Thou startest forth, turn Thy face in the direction of the sacred Mosque;
and wheresoever ye are, Turn your face thither: that there be no ground of dispute against
you among the people, except those of them that are bent on wickedness; so fear them
not, but fear Me; and that I may complete My favours on you, and ye May be guided;
It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces Towards east or West; but it is righteousness-
to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers;
to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy,
for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer,
and practice regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm
and patient, in pain and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people
of truth, the Allah-fearing.
The two moments in each year when the sun is directly overhead the Kaaba, the direction
of shadows in any sunlit place will point directly away from the Qiblah. This happens
on May 27 or May 28 at 9:18 GMT and on July 15 or July 16 at 9:27 GMT. Likewise there
are two moments in each year when the Sun is directly over the antipodes of the Kaaba.
This happens on January 12 or January 13 at 21:29 GMT and on November 28 at 21:09 GMT.
Because the Earth is almost a sphere, this is almost the same as saying that the Qiblah
from a place is the direction in which a bird would start flying in order to get to the
Kaaba by the shortest possible way. The antipodes of the Kaaba is in the middle of the Pacific
Ocean, in remote southern French Polynesia, some 35 mi northeast of Tematangi atoll and
85 mi west-northwest of Moruroa atoll. Islamic mathematics
Determining the direction of the Qiblah was a central issue and a constant generator of
a scientific environment during the Islamic Golden Age, one that required both mathematics
and observation. Muslim scientists who contributed works to determine the Qiblah direction from
any point on the Earth's surface were: Al-Khawarizmi, Habash al-Hasib al-Marwazi, Al-Nayrizi, Al-Battani,
Abū al-Wafā' Būzjānī, Ibn Yunus, Al-Sijzi, Abu Nasr Mansur, Ibn al-Haytham, Al-Biruni,
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Ibn al-Shatir, and Al-Khalili, among others.
North American interpretations
In recent years, Muslims from North America have used two rules to determine the direction
of the Qiblah. According to spherical calculations, a Muslim praying from Anchorage, Alaska would
pray almost due north if determining the Qiblah. However, when one looks at the world on most
Mercator map projections, Mecca appears to be southeast of Anchorage. The shortest rhumb
line from most points in North America to Mecca will point toward the southeast, but
the distance to Mecca along this route on the actual surface of the earth is longer
than the great circle route. There are Muslim communities in North America
who face toward the northeast, following the great circle route, and there are Muslim communities
in North America who face toward the southeast according to traditional early Islamic methods
including sighting the stars, sun, wind, etc. Most Qiblah-calculating programs use the great
circle method and place the Qiblah northeast from most points in North America.
From space In April 2006, Malaysian National Space Agency
sponsored a conference of scientists and religious scholars to address the issue of how the Qiblah
should be determined when one is in orbit. The conference concluded that the astronaut
should determine the location of the Qiblah "according to [their] capability". There have
already been several Muslim astronauts, among them the very first being Sultan bin Salman
bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the latest being the first Muslim woman in space Anousheh Ansari
and the Malaysian angkasawan Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has stated that one should face the direction of the
Earth.
See also Qibla al-Qudsiyya
Black Stone Craig retroazimuthal projection
Qiblih, the Bahá'í equivalent of the Qiblah Praying towards Mecca in space
References
Further reading Gibson, Dan. "Ch.17 The Qibla". in Qur'anic
Geography, A survey and evaluation of the geographical references in the Qur'an with
suggested solutions for various problems and issues.. Independent Scholars Press. pp. 238–250.
ISBN 978-0-9733642-8-6. King, David. "The Sacred Geography of Islam".
In Koetsier, Teun; Bergmans, Luc. Mathematics and the Divine: A Historical Study. Amsterdam:
Elsevier Science. pp. 161–178. ISBN 0-444-50328-5. King, David A..
World maps for finding the direction and distance to Mecca : innovation and tradition in Islamic
science. Islamic philosophy, theology, and science. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 90-04-11367-3.
External links Full information of the Kaaba
The City of Jerusalem in Islam About.com Second Year of the Hijra at al-islam.org
Qiblah In North America – argues that the Qiblah is based on a rhumb line path
Determining the Sacred Direction of Islam Denis Roegel: An Extension of Al-Khalīlī's
Qibla Table to the Entire World, 2008 Online tools
Qiblah.us Accurate Qibla calculator Gives highly accurate
Qibla and distance to Mecca using the WGS84 ellipsoid
Qibla Direction eQibla.com – worldwide Qibla Direction
Qiblah Direction Finder QiblaDirection.com uses Google Maps and Google
Earth to draw a line between your location and Mecca, automatically gives the prayer
times for your location Find Qibla using rhumb line and great circle,
also compute magnetic declination Qibla finder Widget for Konfabulator
Type your address to see a map showing your Qibla Direction
Qibla Finder