Qibla · Sabha District
Qibla direction in Sabha
To face the Kaaba in Sabha, turn to 98.1° measured clockwise from true north, which is east (8.1° south of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 2,645 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Sabha should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 98.1°, the Qibla of Sabha. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 98° is all you need; a needle compass reads magnetic north and needs the local declination added or subtracted first.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Sabha
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 8.1° towards south: the result is the bearing of 98.1°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 8° off.
Facing the Qibla is a condition of the prayer. Whoever prays inside the Sacred Mosque faces the Kaaba itself; whoever is far away, as in Sabha, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Sabha is a handy reference, because the prayer rows were aligned when it was built. Once you know the direction at home, a discreet mark on the wall saves you from checking again.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Sabha to Mecca points to 103.6° (east), 5.5° away from the correct 98.1°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 4 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.
How is the figure of 98.1° obtained? From the coordinates of Sabha (27.0377° N, 14.4283° E) and of the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), spherical trigonometry gives the starting bearing of the great circle joining them. Mosque architects and astronomical Qibla tables rely on exactly the same calculation.
Distance from Sabha to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 2,645 km from Sabha as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,534 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 3 h 37 min, although most pilgrims from Sabha connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Sabha 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 Sabha rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Sabha
On 213 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Sabha while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in May (31 days); for example, on 15 March 2027 it happens at 08:04 local time.
On 139 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 May (31 days), for instance on 15 April 2027 at 18:56.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | — |
| 1 February 2027 | — | — |
| 15 February 2027 | — | — |
| 1 March 2027 | — | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 08:04 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 08:50 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 09:27 | 18:56 |
| 1 May 2027 | 10:10 | 18:07 |
| 15 May 2027 | 10:47 | 17:29 |
| 1 June 2027 | 11:27 | 16:53 |
| 15 June 2027 | 11:47 | 16:38 |
| 1 July 2027 | 11:47 | 16:44 |
| 15 July 2027 | 11:28 | 17:08 |
| 1 August 2027 | 10:48 | 17:49 |
| 15 August 2027 | 10:08 | 18:26 |
| 1 September 2027 | 09:16 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 08:31 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 07:39 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | — | — |
| 1 November 2027 | — | — |
| 15 November 2027 | — | — |
| 1 December 2027 | — | — |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Sabha: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Sabha compared with other cities
Compared with Tripoli, Libya, 661 km away, the Qibla in Sabha is turned 11.1° further anticlockwise (98.1° against 109.2°), and Mecca is 271 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Sirte (509 km), prays towards 109.6°, a difference of 11.5°.
Among the 17 cities in Libya on this site, Sabha has the smallest Qibla bearing; the largest is 123.1° in Tobruk. Across the country the direction varies by 25.0°.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Libya.
Qibla in cities near Sabha
- Sirte109.6° · 509 km
- Misratah110.3° · 597 km
- Zliten109.9° · 604 km
- Al Khums109.9° · 624 km
- Qaşr Bin Ghashīr108.8° · 639 km
- Az Zawiyah108.4° · 657 km
Qibla in Sabha: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Sabha?
It is 98.1° from true north, which is east: 8.1° south of east.
How far is Sabha from Mecca?
2,645 km in a straight line over the globe, and 2,534 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Sabha?
On 213 days of 2027 the sun stands in the Qibla direction; the table on this page gives the exact time for the 1st and 15th of each month.
Why is the Qibla in Sabha not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 103.6°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Sabha at 98.1°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 98.1° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.