Qibla direction in Nablus

How to face the Qibla in Nablus

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 21.8° towards east: the result is the bearing of 158.2°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at south would leave you about 22° 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 Nablus is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Nablus. 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

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Nablus to Mecca points to 159.3°, only 1.1° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 158.2° bearing remains the exact one.

The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 32.2211° N, 35.2544° 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 Nablus to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 1,283 km from Nablus as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 962 km away. The distance is short enough that many pilgrims from Nablus travel to the Hijaz by road.

Clocks in Nablus 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 Nablus rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Nablus

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Nablus 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 10:22 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Nablus 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 Nablus: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Nablus compared with other cities

Compared with Şūr Bāhir, 54 km away, the Qibla in Nablus is turned 1.0° further clockwise (158.2° against 157.2°), and Mecca is 49 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Şūr Bāhir (54 km), prays towards 157.2°, a difference of 1.0°.

Among the 5 cities in Palestine on this site, Nablus has the largest Qibla bearing; the smallest is 152.2° in Khan Yunis. Across the country the direction varies by 6.0°.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Palestine.

Qibla in cities near Nablus

• Şūr Bāhir157.2° · 54 km
• Hebron156.2° · 78 km
• Gaza153.3° · 109 km
• Khan Yunis152.2° · 133 km