Qibla direction in Karawang

How to face the Qibla in Karawang

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 25.1° towards north: the result is the bearing of 295.1°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 25° 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 Karawang, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of one of the mosques of Karawang 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

A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Karawang to Mecca points to 292.7° (north-west), 2.3° away from the correct 295.1°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 11 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 value of 295.1° is the direction in which the shortest route from 6.3053° S, 107.3197° 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 Karawang to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 7,972 km from Karawang as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 8,082 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 9 h 53 min, although most pilgrims from Karawang connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Karawang 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 Karawang rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Karawang

On 217 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Karawang 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 12:34 local time.

On 146 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 08:40.

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

Karawang compared with other cities

The Qibla here is practically the same as in Jakarta (295.2°), and Mecca is 52 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Rengasdengklok (16 km), prays towards 295.0°, 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 Karawang

• Rengasdengklok295.0° · 16 km
• Cikarang295.1° · 19 km
• Cikampek295.1° · 20 km
• Purwakarta295.1° · 31 km
• Bekasi295.1° · 37 km
• Cileungsir295.2° · 41 km