Qibla · Kedah
Qibla direction in Alor Star
To face the Kaaba in Alor Star, turn to 291.2° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (21.2° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 6,714 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Alor Star should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 291.2°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 291°; with a classic magnetic compass, first correct for the local magnetic declination, which can shift the needle by several degrees.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Alor Star
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 21.2° towards north: the result is the bearing of 291.2°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 21° 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 Alor Star is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Alor Star. 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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Alor Star to Mecca points to 284.6° (west), 6.6° away from the correct 291.2°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 20 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 angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 6.1210° N, 100.3601° 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 Alor Star to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 6,714 km from Alor Star as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 6,771 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 8 h 24 min, although most pilgrims from Alor Star connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Alor Star run 5 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Alor Star rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Alor Star
On 113 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Alor Star 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 April 2027 it happens at 13:57 local time.
On 156 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 March (31 days), for instance on 1 February 2027 at 09:11.
| 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 | — | 09:11 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 10:15 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 11:11 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 12:04 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 13:05 |
| 15 April 2027 | 13:57 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 15:01 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 16:03 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | — | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 17:32 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 15:58 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 14:55 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 13:42 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 12:43 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 11:36 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 10:37 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 09:24 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 08:21 |
| 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 Alor Star: at 17:18 and 17:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Alor Star compared with other cities
Compared with Kuala Lumpur, 362 km away, the Qibla in Alor Star is turned 1.3° further anticlockwise (291.2° against 292.5°), and Mecca is 260 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Kota Kuala Muda (59 km), prays towards 291.5°, a difference of 0.3°.
Across the 40 cities in Malaysia on this site, the Qibla ranges from 290.6° in Kota Kinabalu to 293.0° in Iskandar Puteri, a spread of 2.4°. The difference is small, yet each city should still use its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Malaysia.
Qibla in cities near Alor Star
- Kota Kuala Muda291.5° · 59 km
- Paya Terubong291.6° · 84 km
- Bukit Mertajam291.6° · 85 km
- Taiping291.8° · 147 km
- Ipoh291.9° · 189 km
- Kota Bharu291.0° · 208 km
Qibla in Alor Star: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Alor Star?
It is 291.2° from true north, which is west: 21.2° north of west.
How far is Alor Star from Mecca?
6,714 km in a straight line over the globe, and 6,771 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Alor Star?
On 113 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 Alor Star not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 284.6°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Alor Star at 291.2°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 291.2° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.