Qibla direction in Boma

How to face the Qibla in Boma

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 43.1° towards east: the result is the bearing of 43.1°. 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 Boma.

Facing the Qibla is a condition of the prayer. Whoever prays inside the Sacred Mosque faces the Kaaba itself; whoever is far away, as in Boma, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its prayer rows were aligned when it was built. Once you know the direction at home, a discreet mark on the wall saves you from checking again.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Boma to Mecca points to 43.9°, only 0.8° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 43.1° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 43.1° obtained? From the coordinates of Boma (5.8510° S, 13.0536° E) and of the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), spherical trigonometry gives the starting bearing of the great circle joining them. Mosque architects and astronomical Qibla tables rely on exactly the same calculation.

Distance from Boma to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 4,209 km from Boma as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,431 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 27 min, although most pilgrims from Boma connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Boma 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 Boma rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Boma

On 216 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Boma 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 12:03 local time.

On 148 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 13:22.

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

Boma compared with other cities

Compared with Kinshasa, 302 km away, the Qibla in Boma is turned 1.0° further clockwise (43.1° against 42.1°), and Mecca is 294 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Matadi (45 km), prays towards 42.7°, a difference of 0.4°.

Across the 37 cities in the DR Congo on this site, the Qibla ranges from 20.2° in Lubumbashi to 45.4° in Gemena, a spread of 25.2°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for DR Congo.

Qibla in cities near Boma

• Matadi42.7° · 45 km
• Moanda43.7° · 76 km
• Mbanza-Ngungu41.7° · 210 km
• Inkisi41.6° · 235 km
• Kinshasa42.1° · 302 km
• Bandundu Province40.6° · 556 km