Qibla · Oyo State
Qibla direction in Ibadan
To face the Kaaba in Ibadan, turn to 64.1° measured clockwise from true north, which is north-east (25.9° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,157 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Ibadan should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 64.1°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 64°; 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 Ibadan
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 25.9° towards north: the result is the bearing of 64.1°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 26° 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. The simplest check in Ibadan is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Ibadan. 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 Ibadan to Mecca points to 68.0° (east), 3.9° away from the correct 64.1°. 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 angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 7.3776° N, 3.9059° 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 Ibadan to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,157 km from Ibadan as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,244 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 23 min, although most pilgrims from Ibadan connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Ibadan 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 Ibadan rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Ibadan
On 148 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Ibadan 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 12:24 local time.
On 217 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 17:34.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | 17:34 |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 17:11 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 16:26 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 15:43 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 14:56 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 14:09 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 13:11 |
| 15 April 2027 | 12:24 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 11:32 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 10:50 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 10:09 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 09:51 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 09:58 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 10:25 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 11:10 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 11:50 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 12:37 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 13:15 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 13:59 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 14:38 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 15:30 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 16:14 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 17:01 |
| 15 December 2027 | — | 17:31 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Ibadan: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Ibadan compared with other cities
The Qibla here is practically the same as in Abuja (64.6°), and Mecca is 437 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Ikire (31 km), prays towards 63.9°, 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 Ibadan
Qibla in Ibadan: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Ibadan?
It is 64.1° from true north, which is north-east: 25.9° north of east.
How far is Ibadan from Mecca?
4,157 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,244 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Ibadan?
On 148 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 Ibadan not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 68.0°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Ibadan at 64.1°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 64.1° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.