Qibla · North Sumatra

Qibla direction in Binjai

To face the Kaaba in Binjai, turn to 292.8° measured clockwise from true north, which is north-west (22.8° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 6,626 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Binjai should follow.

On the compass the green needle points to 292.8°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 293°; 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 Binjai

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 22.8° towards north: the result is the bearing of 292.8°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 23° 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 Binjai is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Binjai. 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 Binjai to Mecca points to 287.4° (west), 5.4° away from the correct 292.8°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 16 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 3.6001° N, 98.4854° 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 Binjai to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 6,626 km from Binjai as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 6,704 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 8 h 18 min, although most pilgrims from Binjai connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Binjai 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 Binjai rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Binjai

On 146 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Binjai 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 1 April 2027 it happens at 12:38 local time.

On 164 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 October (31 days), for instance on 15 January 2027 at 07:39.

Sun in the Qibla direction in Binjai, 2027 (local time, 24-hour clock). — means it does not happen that day.
DateSun in the Qibla direction (face the sun)Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla)
1 January 2027——
15 January 2027—07:39
1 February 2027—08:59
15 February 2027—09:57
1 March 2027—10:50
15 March 2027—11:40
1 April 202712:38—
15 April 202713:27—
1 May 202714:26—
15 May 202715:22—
1 June 202716:38—
15 June 2027——
1 July 2027——
15 July 202716:30—
1 August 202715:18—
15 August 202714:21—
1 September 202713:13—
15 September 2027—12:17
1 October 2027—11:13
15 October 2027—10:17
1 November 2027—09:08
15 November 2027—08:11
1 December 2027—07:03
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 Binjai: at 16:18 and 16:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Binjai compared with other cities

Compared with Jakarta, 1,433 km away, the Qibla in Binjai is turned 2.4° further anticlockwise (292.8° against 295.2°), and Mecca is 1,294 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Medan (20 km), prays towards 292.8°, the same bearing to the tenth of a degree.

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 Binjai

Qibla in Binjai: questions and answers

What is the Qibla direction in Binjai?

It is 292.8° from true north, which is north-west: 22.8° north of west.

How far is Binjai from Mecca?

6,626 km in a straight line over the globe, and 6,704 km to Medina.

When does the sun show the Qibla in Binjai?

On 146 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 Binjai not the direction shown on a map?

Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 287.4°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Binjai at 292.8°, and that is the Qibla.

Does the Qibla change during the year?

No. The direction of 292.8° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.

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