Qibla · Punjab
Qibla direction in Batāla
To face the Kaaba in Batāla, turn to 260.6° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (9.4° south of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,683 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Batāla should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 260.6°, the Qibla of Batāla. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 261° is all you need; a needle compass reads magnetic north and needs the local declination added or subtracted first.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Batāla
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 9.4° towards south: the result is the bearing of 260.6°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 9° off.
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 Batāla, 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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Batāla to Mecca points to 251.8° (west), 8.8° away from the correct 260.6°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 12 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.
How is the figure of 260.6° obtained? From the coordinates of Batāla (31.8092° N, 75.2029° 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 Batāla to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,683 km from Batāla as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,567 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 50 min, although most pilgrims from Batāla connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Batāla run 2.5 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Batāla rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Batāla
On 218 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Batāla 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 17:41 local time.
On 134 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 May (31 days), for instance on 1 May 2027 at 06:53.
| 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 | — | — |
| 15 February 2027 | — | — |
| 1 March 2027 | — | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 17:41 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 16:55 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 16:18 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 15:38 | 06:53 |
| 15 May 2027 | 15:09 | 07:22 |
| 1 June 2027 | 14:43 | 07:51 |
| 15 June 2027 | 14:34 | 08:05 |
| 1 July 2027 | 14:39 | 08:07 |
| 15 July 2027 | 14:56 | 07:55 |
| 1 August 2027 | 15:25 | 07:26 |
| 15 August 2027 | 15:53 | 06:55 |
| 1 September 2027 | 16:28 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 16:56 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 17:29 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | — | — |
| 1 November 2027 | — | — |
| 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 Batāla: at 14:48 and 14:57 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Batāla compared with other cities
Compared with New Delhi, 404 km away, the Qibla in Batāla is turned 6.0° further anticlockwise (260.6° against 266.6°), and Mecca is 153 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Amritsar (37 km), prays towards 260.6°, the same bearing to the tenth of a degree.
Across the 442 cities in India on this site, the Qibla ranges from 256.8° in Srinagar to 294.3° in Nagercoil, a spread of 37.5°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for India.
Qibla in cities near Batāla
Qibla in Batāla: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Batāla?
It is 260.6° from true north, which is west: 9.4° south of west.
How far is Batāla from Mecca?
3,683 km in a straight line over the globe, and 3,567 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Batāla?
On 218 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 Batāla not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 251.8°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Batāla at 260.6°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 260.6° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.