Qibla direction in Cabinda

How to face the Qibla in Cabinda

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 44.2° towards east: the result is the bearing of 44.2°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “north” would be off by more than 40°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Cabinda.

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. If a mosque is nearby, its mihrab and prayer lines are the easiest reference, since they were set when the building was laid out. 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

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Cabinda to Mecca points to 45.1°, only 0.9° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 44.2° bearing remains the exact one.

The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 5.5620° S, 12.1948° 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 Cabinda to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 4,252 km from Cabinda as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,468 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 30 min, although most pilgrims from Cabinda connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Cabinda run 2 hours behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Cabinda rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Cabinda

On 215 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Cabinda while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in May (31 days); for example, on 15 March 2027 it happens at 12:07 local time.

On 150 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 January (31 days), for instance on 1 January 2027 at 13:30.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Cabinda: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Cabinda compared with other cities

Compared with Luanda, 382 km away, the Qibla in Cabinda is turned 3.8° further clockwise (44.2° against 40.4°), and Mecca is 192 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Soyo (67 km), prays towards 43.6°, a difference of 0.7°.

Among the 30 cities in Angola on this site, Cabinda has the largest Qibla bearing; the smallest is 30.6° in Luena. Across the country the direction varies by 13.6°.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Angola.

Qibla in cities near Cabinda

• Soyo43.6° · 67 km
• Mbanza Kongo41.5° · 239 km
• Panguíla40.3° · 375 km
• Luanda40.4° · 382 km
• Uíge39.4° · 390 km
• Viana40.2° · 394 km