Qibla direction in Jizan

How to face the Qibla in Jizan

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 29.2° towards west: the result is the bearing of 330.8°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at north would leave you about 29° 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 Jizan is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Jizan. 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 Jizan to Mecca points to 330.4°, only 0.4° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 330.8° bearing remains the exact one.

The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 16.8892° N, 42.5511° 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 Jizan to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 580 km from Jizan as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 896 km away. The distance is short enough that many pilgrims from Jizan travel to the Hijaz by road.

Clocks in Jizan run the same time as Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Jizan rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Jizan

On 90 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Jizan while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in July (31 days); for example, on 15 May 2027 it happens at 12:11 local time.

On 275 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 10:45.

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

Jizan compared with other cities

Compared with Riyadh, 969 km away, the Qibla in Jizan is turned 86.7° further clockwise (330.8° against 244.2°), and Mecca is 214 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Şabyā (30 km), prays towards 328.7°, a difference of 2.1°.

Among the 27 cities in Saudi Arabia on this site, Jizan has the largest Qibla bearing; the smallest is 96.4° in Jeddah. Across the country the direction varies by 234.5°.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Saudi Arabia.

Qibla in cities near Jizan

• Şabyā328.7° · 30 km
• Abhā322.3° · 148 km
• Khamis Mushait319.3° · 158 km
• Najran314.8° · 180 km
• Sabt Al Alaya313.0° · 305 km
• Bisha299.2° · 346 km