Qibla direction in Blantyre

How to face the Qibla in Blantyre

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 7.4° towards east: the result is the bearing of 7.4°. The direction is close to due north, which makes it easy to remember.

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 Blantyre, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Blantyre 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

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Blantyre to Mecca points to 7.2°, only 0.1° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 7.4° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 7.4° obtained? From the coordinates of Blantyre (15.7850° S, 35.0085° 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 Blantyre to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 4,171 km from Blantyre as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,504 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 24 min, although most pilgrims from Blantyre connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Blantyre 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 Blantyre rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Blantyre

On 273 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Blantyre 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 11:52 local time.

On 92 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 January (31 days), for instance on 1 January 2027 at 11:47.

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

Blantyre compared with other cities

Compared with Lilongwe, 241 km away, the Qibla in Blantyre is turned 2.2° further anticlockwise (7.4° against 9.6°), and Mecca is 181 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Zomba (55 km), prays towards 7.0°, a difference of 0.4°.

Across the 4 cities in Malawi on this site, the Qibla ranges from 7.0° in Zomba to 9.9° in Mzuzu, a spread of 2.9°. The difference is small, yet each city should still use its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Malawi.

Qibla in cities near Blantyre

• Zomba7.0° · 55 km
• Lilongwe9.6° · 241 km
• Mzuzu9.9° · 492 km