Qibla direction in Hebron

How to face the Qibla in Hebron

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 23.8° towards east: the result is the bearing of 156.2°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at south would leave you about 24° 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 Hebron, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Hebron 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

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Hebron to Mecca points to 157.3°, only 1.1° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 156.2° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 156.2° obtained? From the coordinates of Hebron (31.5294° N, 35.0938° 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 Hebron to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 1,218 km from Hebron as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 902 km away. The distance is short enough that many pilgrims from Hebron travel to the Hijaz by road.

Clocks in Hebron run 1 hour behind Mecca in winter and the same time as Mecca in summer, because of daylight saving time. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Hebron rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Hebron

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Hebron while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in January (31 days); for example, on 1 January 2027 it happens at 10:15 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Hebron during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Hebron: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Hebron compared with other cities

Compared with Şūr Bāhir, 27 km away, the Qibla in Hebron is turned 1.1° further anticlockwise (156.2° against 157.2°), and Mecca is 16 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Şūr Bāhir (27 km), prays towards 157.2°, a difference of 1.1°.

Across the 5 cities in Palestine on this site, the Qibla ranges from 152.2° in Khan Yunis to 158.2° in Nablus, a spread of 6.0°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Palestine.

Qibla in cities near Hebron

• Şūr Bāhir157.2° · 27 km
• Gaza153.3° · 60 km
• Khan Yunis152.2° · 78 km
• Nablus158.2° · 78 km