Qibla direction in Shāhīn Shahr

How to face the Qibla in Shāhīn Shahr

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 44.8° towards south: the result is the bearing of 225.2°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “west” would be off by more than 40°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Shāhīn Shahr.

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 Shāhīn Shahr, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of one of the mosques of Shāhīn Shahr 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 Shāhīn Shahr to Mecca points to 222.3° (south-west), 2.9° away from the correct 225.2°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is not 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 225.2° is the direction in which the shortest route from 32.8579° N, 51.5529° 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 Shāhīn Shahr to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 1,719 km from Shāhīn Shahr as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,491 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 2 h 31 min, although most pilgrims from Shāhīn Shahr connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Shāhīn Shahr run 0.5 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Shāhīn Shahr rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Shāhīn Shahr

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Shāhīn Shahr while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in January (31 days); for example, on 1 January 2027 it happens at 15:15 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Shāhīn Shahr during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Shāhīn Shahr: at 12:48 and 12:57 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Shāhīn Shahr compared with other cities

Compared with Tehran, 316 km away, the Qibla in Shāhīn Shahr is turned 6.7° further clockwise (225.2° against 218.5°), and Mecca is 227 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Isfahan (26 km), prays towards 226.1°, a difference of 0.9°.

Across the 90 cities in Iran on this site, the Qibla ranges from 195.9° in Khoy to 257.6° in Iranshahr, a spread of 61.7°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Iran.

Qibla in cities near Shāhīn Shahr

• Isfahan226.1° · 26 km
• Najafābād225.3° · 30 km
• Bahārestān226.8° · 46 km
• Shahr-e Kord224.7° · 88 km
• Shahreẕā228.3° · 99 km
• Kashan222.1° · 126 km