Qibla · Sabah
Qibla direction in Lahad Datu
To face the Kaaba in Lahad Datu, turn to 290.9° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (20.9° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 8,615 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Lahad Datu should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 290.9°, the Qibla of Lahad Datu. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 291° 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 Lahad Datu
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 20.9° towards north: the result is the bearing of 290.9°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 21° 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 Lahad Datu, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its 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 Lahad Datu to Mecca points to 282.2° (west), 8.7° away from the correct 290.9°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 44 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 290.9° obtained? From the coordinates of Lahad Datu (5.0230° N, 118.3290° 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 Lahad Datu to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 8,615 km from Lahad Datu as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 8,636 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 10 h 38 min, although most pilgrims from Lahad Datu connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Lahad Datu 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 Lahad Datu rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Lahad Datu
On 110 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Lahad Datu while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in August (31 days); for example, on 15 April 2027 it happens at 12:58 local time.
On 147 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 08:00.
| 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 | — | 08:00 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 09:07 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 10:07 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 11:01 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 12:05 |
| 15 April 2027 | 12:58 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 14:05 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 15:13 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | — | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | — | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 15:06 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 13:59 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 12:43 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 11:42 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 10:34 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 09:33 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 08:17 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 07:09 |
| 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 Lahad Datu: at 17:18 and 17:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Lahad Datu compared with other cities
Compared with Kuala Lumpur, 1,858 km away, the Qibla in Lahad Datu is turned 1.7° further anticlockwise (290.9° against 292.5°), and Mecca is 1,641 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Sandakan (94 km), prays towards 290.7°, a difference of 0.2°.
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 Lahad Datu
Qibla in Lahad Datu: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Lahad Datu?
It is 290.9° from true north, which is west: 20.9° north of west.
How far is Lahad Datu from Mecca?
8,615 km in a straight line over the globe, and 8,636 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Lahad Datu?
On 110 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 Lahad Datu not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 282.2°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Lahad Datu at 290.9°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 290.9° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.