Qibla direction in Shahreẕā

How to face the Qibla in Shahreẕā

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 41.7° towards south: the result is the bearing of 228.3°. 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 Shahreẕā.

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 Shahreẕā, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of one of the mosques of Shahreẕā 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 Shahreẕā to Mecca points to 225.4° (south-west), 2.9° away from the correct 228.3°. 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 228.3° is the direction in which the shortest route from 32.0088° N, 51.8641° 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 Shahreẕā to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 1,675 km from Shahreẕā as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,462 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 2 h 28 min, although most pilgrims from Shahreẕā connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Shahreẕā 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 Shahreẕā rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Shahreẕā

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Shahreẕā 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 15:30 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Shahreẕā 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 Shahreẕā: at 12:48 and 12:57 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Shahreẕā compared with other cities

Compared with Tehran, 412 km away, the Qibla in Shahreẕā is turned 9.8° further clockwise (228.3° against 218.5°), and Mecca is 271 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Bahārestān (54 km), prays towards 226.8°, a difference of 1.5°.

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 Shahreẕā

• Bahārestān226.8° · 54 km
• Isfahan226.1° · 74 km
• Najafābād225.3° · 84 km
• Shāhīn Shahr225.2° · 99 km
• Shahr-e Kord224.7° · 101 km
• Īz̄eh223.2° · 189 km