Qibla · Kebbi
Qibla direction in Birnin Kebbi
To face the Kaaba in Birnin Kebbi, turn to 70.4° measured clockwise from true north, which is east (19.6° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,909 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Birnin Kebbi should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 70.4°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 70°; 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 Birnin Kebbi
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 19.6° towards north: the result is the bearing of 70.4°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 20° 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. If a mosque is nearby, its mihrab and prayer lines are the easiest reference, since they were set when the building was laid out. 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 Birnin Kebbi to Mecca points to 75.2° (east), 4.9° away from the correct 70.4°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 6 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 12.4539° N, 4.1975° 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 Birnin Kebbi to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,909 km from Birnin Kebbi as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,952 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 06 min, although most pilgrims from Birnin Kebbi connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Birnin Kebbi 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 Birnin Kebbi rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Birnin Kebbi
On 100 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Birnin Kebbi 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 12:08 local time.
On 171 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 18:05.
| 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 | — | 18:05 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 17:08 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 16:12 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 15:16 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 14:08 |
| 15 April 2027 | — | 13:13 |
| 1 May 2027 | 12:08 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 11:12 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 07:31 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 08:45 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 07:24 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 11:36 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 12:29 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | — | 13:28 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 14:15 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 15:08 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 15:56 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 17:00 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | — |
| 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 Birnin Kebbi: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Birnin Kebbi compared with other cities
Compared with Abuja, 522 km away, the Qibla in Birnin Kebbi is turned 5.8° further clockwise (70.4° against 64.6°), and Mecca is 188 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Sokoto (132 km), prays towards 70.9°, a difference of 0.6°.
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 Birnin Kebbi
Qibla in Birnin Kebbi: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Birnin Kebbi?
It is 70.4° from true north, which is east: 19.6° north of east.
How far is Birnin Kebbi from Mecca?
3,909 km in a straight line over the globe, and 3,952 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Birnin Kebbi?
On 100 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 Birnin Kebbi not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 75.2°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Birnin Kebbi at 70.4°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 70.4° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.