Qibla direction in Jember

How to face the Qibla in Jember

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 24.0° towards north: the result is the bearing of 294.0°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 24° off.

The scholars distinguish two cases: the one who sees the Kaaba aims at the building itself, while the one who cannot see it, as anywhere in Jember, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of one of the mosques of Jember is a quick way to confirm the result. If you travel or move house, check the angle again, since it changes from place to place.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Jember to Mecca points to 292.2°, only 1.8° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 294.0° bearing remains the exact one.

The value of 294.0° is the direction in which the shortest route from 8.1721° S, 113.6995° E sets off towards the Kaaba at 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E. Every accurate Qibla calculator, and the plans of well-oriented mosques, arrive at the same angle for this point.

Distance from Jember to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 8,698 km from Jember as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 8,802 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 10 h 44 min, although most pilgrims from Jember connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Jember run 4 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Jember rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Jember

On 206 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Jember 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 March 2027 it happens at 11:42 local time.

On 136 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 08:23.

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

Jember compared with other cities

Compared with Jakarta, 787 km away, the Qibla in Jember is turned 1.1° further anticlockwise (294.0° against 295.2°), and Mecca is 778 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Lumajang (52 km), prays towards 294.1°, a difference of 0.1°.

Across the 140 cities in Indonesia on this site, the Qibla ranges from 290.2° in Merauke to 295.5° in Pelabuhanratu, a spread of 5.3°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Indonesia.

Qibla in cities near Jember

• Lumajang294.1° · 52 km
• Situbondo293.8° · 62 km
• Probolinggo294.0° · 71 km
• Banyuwangi293.9° · 73 km
• Negara293.8° · 103 km
• Pasuruan294.1° · 105 km