Qibla direction in Iraq
The Qibla in Iraq lies towards the south. Depending on the city the angle from true north ranges from 182.1° in Ar Ruţbah to 224.3° in Al Fāw, and the Kaaba is between 1,227 km and 1,788 km away. The table gives the exact bearing for 105 cities.
Stand facing true north, then turn clockwise by the angle of your city. A phone compass shows magnetic north, which in Iraq can differ from true north by a few degrees; our Qibla finder corrects this automatically when your phone reports true heading.
Why the Qibla changes across the country
Between the cities in the table the Qibla angle varies by 42.2°. Nāḩiyat ash Shināfīyah is the closest to the Kaaba (1,227 km) and Beguva the farthest (1,788 km). The farther apart two cities are, the more their bearings to Makkah diverge, which is why the angle of the capital, 199.9°, should not be used everywhere.
Inside a mosque, the mihrab already shows the Qibla. Elsewhere, a compass app, the position of the sun or our Qibla finder can be used; scholars agree that facing the general direction is enough when the exact angle cannot be known.
Qibla in Iraq: questions
What is the Qibla direction in Baghdad?
199.9° from true north, towards the south, 1,400 km from the Kaaba.
Which city in Iraq is closest to Makkah?
Nāḩiyat ash Shināfīyah, 1,227 km from the Kaaba, among the 105 cities listed.
Does a phone compass show the right Qibla?
Only if it is calibrated and corrected for magnetic declination. Turn the phone in a figure 8 and keep it away from metal; our Qibla finder uses the true heading when the phone provides it.
| City | Qibla | Direction | Distance to Makkah |
|---|---|---|---|
| ‘Afak | 205.7° | south-west | 1,299 km |
| 'Ākra | 194.1° | south | 1,747 km |
| ‘Alī al Gharbī | 210.6° | south-west | 1,402 km |
| ‘Anah | 188.9° | south | 1,455 km |
| Abū al-Kahṣīb | 220.6° | south-west | 1,285 km |
| Abu Gharaq | 201.0° | south | 1,313 km |
| Abu Ghraib | 199.1° | south | 1,389 km |
| Akre | 194.1° | south | 1,750 km |
| Al ‘Azīzīyah | 203.3° | south-west | 1,378 km |
| Al Diwaniyah | 204.5° | south-west | 1,279 km |
| Al Fāw | 224.3° | south-west | 1,285 km |
| Al Ḩayy | 208.8° | south-west | 1,345 km |
| Al Hindīyah | 200.5° | south | 1,311 km |
| Al Madīnah | 216.7° | south-west | 1,294 km |
| Al Maḩāwīl | 201.0° | south | 1,329 km |
| Al Maḩmūdīyah | 200.2° | south | 1,369 km |
| Al Miqdādīyah | 201.1° | south | 1,483 km |
| Al Mishkhāb | 203.0° | south-west | 1,244 km |
| Al Qurnah | 217.2° | south-west | 1,308 km |
| Al-'Alam | 195.4° | south | 1,525 km |
| Al-Hamdaniya District | 192.7° | south | 1,687 km |
| Al-Musayab | 200.3° | south | 1,337 km |
| Al-Qa'im | 184.8° | south | 1,447 km |
| Al-Qāsim | 202.9° | south-west | 1,301 km |
| AlZwya | 193.7° | south | 1,578 km |
| Amarah | 213.9° | south-west | 1,366 km |
| An Nu‘mānīyah | 205.4° | south-west | 1,355 km |
| Ar Rumaythah | 206.7° | south-west | 1,244 km |
| Ar Ruţbah | 182.1° | south | 1,292 km |
| Aş Şuwayrah | 202.1° | south | 1,369 km |
| Ash Shāmīyah | 203.2° | south-west | 1,264 km |
| Ash Sharqāt | 192.8° | south | 1,602 km |
| Ash Shaţrah | 211.1° | south-west | 1,277 km |
| Az Zubayr | 220.1° | south-west | 1,270 km |
| Baghdad | 199.9° | south | 1,400 km |
| Baḥarkah | 195.0° | south | 1,705 km |
| Balad | 197.9° | south | 1,463 km |
| Baqubah | 200.1° | south | 1,449 km |
| Barţalah | 192.7° | south | 1,696 km |
| Basra | 220.0° | south-west | 1,285 km |
| Batifa District | 190.8° | south | 1,778 km |
| Bayjī | 194.3° | south | 1,544 km |
| Baynjiwayn | 202.3° | south | 1,687 km |
| Beguva | 191.3° | south | 1,788 km |
| Derbendîxan | 202.1° | south | 1,626 km |
| Derelok Devera Niheliya | 193.0° | south | 1,777 km |
| Duhok | 190.9° | south | 1,744 km |
| Dujail | 198.5° | south | 1,448 km |
| Erbil | 195.0° | south | 1,692 km |
| Fallujah | 197.4° | south | 1,382 km |
| Habhab | 199.7° | south | 1,449 km |
| Ḩadīthah | 190.7° | south | 1,436 km |
| Hajiawa | 197.6° | south | 1,716 km |
| Halabja | 203.1° | south-west | 1,643 km |
| Ḩarir | 195.8° | south | 1,738 km |
| Hillah | 201.4° | south | 1,309 km |
| Hīt | 193.0° | south | 1,390 km |
| Jamjamāl | 198.6° | south | 1,643 km |
| Karbala | 199.5° | south | 1,312 km |
| Kelar | 201.5° | south | 1,563 km |
| Khalīfān | 195.9° | south | 1,746 km |
| Khāliş | 199.8° | south | 1,453 km |
| Khānaqīn | 202.2° | south | 1,537 km |
| Khasnahzān | 195.4° | south | 1,696 km |
| Kifrī | 200.1° | south | 1,558 km |
| Kirkuk | 197.1° | south | 1,624 km |
| Koysinceq | 197.2° | south | 1,695 km |
| Kufa | 202.3° | south | 1,267 km |
| Kut | 207.1° | south-west | 1,368 km |
| Mandalī | 203.8° | south-west | 1,482 km |
| Mosul | 191.8° | south | 1,689 km |
| Nāḩiyat al Fuhūd | 214.5° | south-west | 1,264 km |
| Nāḩiyat al Iskandarīyah | 200.4° | south | 1,351 km |
| Nāḩiyat ash Shināfīyah | 204.1° | south-west | 1,227 km |
| Nahiyat Ghammas | 203.7° | south-west | 1,242 km |
| Najaf | 201.9° | south | 1,261 km |
| Nasiriyah | 212.4° | south-west | 1,248 km |
| Pīrmām | 195.5° | south | 1,717 km |
| Qal‘at Şāliḩ | 215.2° | south-west | 1,346 km |
| Qal‘at Sukkar | 209.6° | south-west | 1,316 km |
| Qeładizê | 198.8° | south | 1,720 km |
| Ramadi | 195.3° | south | 1,377 km |
| Rānyah | 197.9° | south | 1,721 km |
| Ṟuwandiz | 196.3° | south | 1,749 km |
| Saddat al Hindīyah | 200.4° | south | 1,330 km |
| Sadr City | 200.1° | south | 1,406 km |
| Şafwān | 221.1° | south-west | 1,248 km |
| Samarra | 196.7° | south | 1,475 km |
| Samawah | 207.6° | south-west | 1,229 km |
| Shaqlāwah | 195.9° | south | 1,722 km |
| Shelādiz | 193.5° | south | 1,777 km |
| Shorsh | 198.6° | south | 1,641 km |
| Simele | 190.5° | south | 1,741 km |
| Sīnah | 191.2° | south | 1,739 km |
| Sinjar | 187.4° | south | 1,668 km |
| Soran | 196.4° | south | 1,754 km |
| Sulaymaniyah | 200.6° | south | 1,664 km |
| Sumayl | 190.5° | south | 1,741 km |
| Tallkayf | 191.7° | south | 1,706 km |
| Tāzah Khūrmātū | 197.0° | south | 1,604 km |
| Tikrit | 195.4° | south | 1,515 km |
| Tuz Khurmatu District | 198.7° | south | 1,569 km |
| Umm Qaşr | 222.1° | south-west | 1,254 km |
| Xebat | 193.7° | south | 1,693 km |
| Zakho | 189.7° | south | 1,770 km |