Qibla direction in Irbid

How to face the Qibla in Irbid

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 18.6° towards east: the result is the bearing of 161.4°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at south would leave you about 19° 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 Irbid is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Irbid. 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

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Irbid to Mecca points to 162.4°, only 1.0° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 161.4° bearing remains the exact one.

The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 32.5556° N, 35.8500° 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 Irbid to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 1,299 km from Irbid as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 971 km away. The distance is short enough that many pilgrims from Irbid travel to the Hijaz by road.

Clocks in Irbid run the same time as Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Irbid rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Irbid

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Irbid 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 11:32 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Irbid 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 Irbid: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Irbid compared with other cities

Compared with Amman, 67 km away, the Qibla in Irbid is turned 0.5° further clockwise (161.4° against 160.9°), and Mecca is 66 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Ajloun (26 km), prays towards 160.6°, a difference of 0.8°.

Across the 5 cities in Jordan on this site, the Qibla ranges from 160.0° in Salt to 161.7° in Zarqa, a spread of 1.7°. The difference is small, yet each city should still use its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Jordan.

Qibla in cities near Irbid

• Ajloun160.6° · 26 km
• Zarqa161.7° · 58 km
• Salt160.0° · 59 km
• Amman160.9° · 67 km