Qibla direction in Arar

How to face the Qibla in Arar

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 6.8° towards west: the result is the bearing of 186.8°. The direction is close to due south, which makes it easy to remember.

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 Arar, 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

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Arar to Mecca points to 186.5°, only 0.3° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 186.8° bearing remains the exact one.

The value of 186.8° is the direction in which the shortest route from 30.9753° N, 41.0381° 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 Arar to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 1,069 km from Arar as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 737 km away. The distance is short enough that many pilgrims from Arar travel to the Hijaz by road.

Clocks in Arar 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 Arar rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Arar

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Arar 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 12:43 local time.

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

Arar compared with other cities

Compared with Riyadh, 895 km away, the Qibla in Arar is turned 57.4° further anticlockwise (186.8° against 244.2°), and Mecca is 276 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Sakakah (137 km), prays towards 182.4°, a difference of 4.4°.

Across the 27 cities in Saudi Arabia on this site, the Qibla ranges from 96.4° in Jeddah to 330.8° in Jizan, a spread of 234.5°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Saudi Arabia.

Qibla in cities near Arar

• Sakakah182.4° · 137 km
• Qurayyat166.8° · 354 km
• Ha'il195.9° · 389 km
• Tabuk, Tabuk Region, Saudi Arabia156.4° · 518 km
• Hafar Al-Batin219.8° · 554 km
• Buraidah218.6° · 591 km