Qibla · Special Region of Aceh
Qibla direction in Lhokseumawe
To face the Kaaba in Lhokseumawe, turn to 292.1° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (22.1° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 6,422 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Lhokseumawe should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 292.1°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 292°; 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 Lhokseumawe
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 22.1° towards north: the result is the bearing of 292.1°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 22° 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 Lhokseumawe is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Lhokseumawe. 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 Lhokseumawe to Mecca points to 286.3° (west), 5.8° away from the correct 292.1°. 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 5.1801° N, 97.1507° 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 Lhokseumawe to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 6,422 km from Lhokseumawe as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 6,494 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 8 h 03 min, although most pilgrims from Lhokseumawe connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Lhokseumawe 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 Lhokseumawe rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Lhokseumawe
On 128 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Lhokseumawe 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 April 2027 it happens at 13:18 local time.
On 162 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 March (31 days), for instance on 15 January 2027 at 07:18.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 07:18 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 08:44 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 09:44 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 10:38 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 11:29 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 12:28 |
| 15 April 2027 | 13:18 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 14:18 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 15:17 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 16:42 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 16:30 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 15:12 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 14:14 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 13:04 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 12:07 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 11:02 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 10:04 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 08:54 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 07:55 |
| 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 Lhokseumawe: at 16:18 and 16:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Lhokseumawe compared with other cities
Compared with Jakarta, 1,662 km away, the Qibla in Lhokseumawe is turned 3.0° further anticlockwise (292.1° against 295.2°), and Mecca is 1,498 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Langsa (120 km), prays towards 292.4°, a difference of 0.3°.
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 Lhokseumawe
Qibla in Lhokseumawe: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Lhokseumawe?
It is 292.1° from true north, which is west: 22.1° north of west.
How far is Lhokseumawe from Mecca?
6,422 km in a straight line over the globe, and 6,494 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Lhokseumawe?
On 128 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 Lhokseumawe not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 286.3°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Lhokseumawe at 292.1°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 292.1° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.