Qibla · Kano State
Qibla direction in Kano
To face the Kaaba in Kano, turn to 68.4° measured clockwise from true north, which is east (21.6° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,487 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Kano should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 68.4°, the Qibla of Kano. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 68° 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 Kano
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 21.6° towards north: the result is the bearing of 68.4°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 22° 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 Kano, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Kano 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 Kano to Mecca points to 72.5° (east), 4.2° away from the correct 68.4°. 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 68.4° obtained? From the coordinates of Kano (12.0001° N, 8.5167° 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 Kano to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,487 km from Kano as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,553 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 36 min, although most pilgrims from Kano connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Kano 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 Kano rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Kano
On 122 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Kano 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 1 May 2027 it happens at 11:50 local time.
On 187 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 17:18.
| 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 | — | 17:18 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 16:28 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 15:36 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 14:44 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 13:40 |
| 15 April 2027 | — | 12:48 |
| 1 May 2027 | 11:50 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 11:00 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 10:06 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 06:58 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 06:56 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 10:25 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 11:22 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 12:09 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | — | 13:03 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 13:46 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 14:35 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 15:19 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 16:18 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 17:09 |
| 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 Kano: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Kano compared with other cities
Compared with Abuja, 346 km away, the Qibla in Kano is turned 3.8° further clockwise (68.4° against 64.6°), and Mecca is 233 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Zaria (131 km), prays towards 67.4°, a difference of 1.0°.
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 Kano
Qibla in Kano: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Kano?
It is 68.4° from true north, which is east: 21.6° north of east.
How far is Kano from Mecca?
3,487 km in a straight line over the globe, and 3,553 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Kano?
On 122 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 Kano not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 72.5°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Kano at 68.4°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 68.4° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.