Qibla direction in Al Khums

How to face the Qibla in Al Khums

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 19.9° towards south: the result is the bearing of 109.9°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 20° 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 Al Khums, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of one of the mosques of Al Khums 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 Al Khums to Mecca points to 116.3° (south-east), 6.4° away from the correct 109.9°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 5 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 109.9° is the direction in which the shortest route from 32.6486° N, 14.2619° 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 Al Khums to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 2,813 km from Al Khums as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,629 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 3 h 49 min, although most pilgrims from Al Khums connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Al Khums run 1 hour behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Al Khums rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Al Khums

On 266 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Al Khums while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 15 February 2027 it happens at 08:24 local time.

On 77 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 June (30 days), for instance on 15 May 2027 at 19:29.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Al Khums: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Al Khums compared with other cities

Compared with Tripoli, Libya, 104 km away, the Qibla in Al Khums is turned 0.7° further clockwise (109.9° against 109.2°), and Mecca is 104 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Zliten (35 km), prays towards 109.9°, the same bearing to the tenth of a degree.

Across the 17 cities in Libya on this site, the Qibla ranges from 98.1° in Sabha to 123.1° in Tobruk, a spread of 25.0°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Libya.

Qibla in cities near Al Khums

• Zliten109.9° · 35 km
• Misratah110.3° · 84 km
• Tājūrā’109.3° · 89 km
• Qaşr Bin Ghashīr108.8° · 101 km
• Tripoli, Libya109.2° · 104 km
• Janzūr108.9° · 118 km