Qibla direction in Aba

How to face the Qibla in Aba

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 30.5° towards north: the result is the bearing of 59.5°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “east” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Aba.

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 Aba, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of a local mosque 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 Aba to Mecca points to 62.6° (north-east), 3.1° away from the correct 59.5°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 3 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 59.5° is the direction in which the shortest route from 5.1066° N, 7.3667° 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 Aba to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 3,939 km from Aba as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,061 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 08 min, although most pilgrims from Aba connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Aba run 2 hours behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Aba rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Aba

On 160 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Aba 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 11:58 local time.

On 205 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 16:09.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Aba: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Aba compared with other cities

Compared with Abuja, 440 km away, the Qibla in Aba is turned 5.0° further anticlockwise (59.5° against 64.6°), and Mecca is 219 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Ikot Ekpene (39 km), prays towards 59.4°, a difference of 0.1°.

Across the 90 cities in Nigeria on this site, the Qibla ranges from 58.6° in Esuk Oron to 70.9° in Sokoto, a spread of 12.3°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Nigeria.

Qibla in cities near Aba

• Ikot Ekpene59.4° · 39 km
• Umuahia60.0° · 49 km
• Port Harcourt59.4° · 54 km
• Owerri60.2° · 56 km
• Uyo59.1° · 63 km
• Buguma59.4° · 69 km