Qibla direction in Ikirun

How to face the Qibla in Ikirun

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 25.6° towards north: the result is the bearing of 64.4°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 26° off.

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 Ikirun, 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 Ikirun to Mecca points to 68.3° (east), 3.9° away from the correct 64.4°. 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.

The value of 64.4° is the direction in which the shortest route from 7.9128° N, 4.6674° 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 Ikirun to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 4,056 km from Ikirun as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,142 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 16 min, although most pilgrims from Ikirun connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Ikirun 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 Ikirun rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Ikirun

On 145 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Ikirun 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 12:25 local time.

On 219 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 17:38.

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

Ikirun compared with other cities

The Qibla here is practically the same as in Abuja (64.6°), and Mecca is 335 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Osogbo (20 km), prays towards 64.3°, 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 Ikirun

• Osogbo64.3° · 20 km
• Offa64.7° · 27 km
• Ila Orangun64.4° · 29 km
• Ilesa64.0° · 33 km
• Inisa64.5° · 38 km
• Efon-Alaaye64.0° · 40 km