Qibla · Balkh
Qibla direction in Mazari Sharif
To face the Kaaba in Mazari Sharif, turn to 244.7° measured clockwise from true north, which is south-west (25.3° south of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,132 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Mazari Sharif should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 244.7°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 245°; with a classic magnetic compass, first correct for the local magnetic declination, which can shift the needle by several degrees.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Mazari Sharif
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 25.3° towards south: the result is the bearing of 244.7°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 25° off.
Scholars agree that someone who can see the Kaaba must face it exactly, while someone far away faces its direction (jihat al-Ka‘bah) as precisely as reasonably possible. The simplest check in Mazari Sharif is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Mazari Sharif. At home, mark the direction once with tape or a small arrow so the whole family prays the same way.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Mazari Sharif to Mecca points to 237.2° (south-west), 7.5° away from the correct 244.7°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 7 km longer than the true shortest route. The Qibla follows the great circle, the shortest path on the curved Earth, which is why the bearing differs.
The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 36.7090° N, 67.1109° E to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E). It is the method used by mosque architects and by every serious Qibla calculator, and it gives one exact answer for each point on Earth.
Distance from Mazari Sharif to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,132 km from Mazari Sharif as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,948 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 11 min, although most pilgrims from Mazari Sharif connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Mazari Sharif run 1.5 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Mazari Sharif rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Mazari Sharif
On 287 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Mazari Sharif while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 1 February 2027 it happens at 16:57 local time.
On 28 days the sun stands exactly opposite the Qibla: then the shadow of any vertical object, a pole, a door frame or a plumb line, points straight towards Mecca. This is most frequent in June (23 days), for instance on 15 June 2027 at 05:16.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | — |
| 1 February 2027 | 16:57 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 16:37 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 16:13 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 15:46 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 15:13 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 14:47 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 14:20 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 14:00 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 13:45 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 13:41 | 05:16 |
| 1 July 2027 | 13:45 | 05:19 |
| 15 July 2027 | 13:56 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 14:15 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 14:32 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 14:53 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 15:11 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 15:31 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 15:50 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 16:15 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | — | — |
| 1 December 2027 | — | — |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Mazari Sharif: at 13:48 and 13:57 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Mazari Sharif compared with other cities
Compared with Kabul, 306 km away, the Qibla in Mazari Sharif is turned 6.1° further anticlockwise (244.7° against 250.8°), and Mecca is 81 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Balkh (20 km), prays towards 244.4°, a difference of 0.3°.
Across the 11 cities in Afghanistan on this site, the Qibla ranges from 242.5° in Herat to 252.5° in Kandahar, a spread of 10.0°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Afghanistan.
Qibla in cities near Mazari Sharif
Qibla in Mazari Sharif: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Mazari Sharif?
It is 244.7° from true north, which is south-west: 25.3° south of west.
How far is Mazari Sharif from Mecca?
3,132 km in a straight line over the globe, and 2,948 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Mazari Sharif?
On 287 days of 2027 the sun stands in the Qibla direction; the table on this page gives the exact time for the 1st and 15th of each month.
Why is the Qibla in Mazari Sharif not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 237.2°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Mazari Sharif at 244.7°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 244.7° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.