Qibla direction in Az Zulfī

How to face the Qibla in Az Zulfī

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards south and move a further 44.1° towards west: the result is the bearing of 224.1°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “south” would be off by more than 40°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Az Zulfī.

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 Az Zulfī is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Az Zulfī. 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 Az Zulfī to Mecca points to 223.1°, only 1.0° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 224.1° bearing remains the exact one.

The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 26.2995° N, 44.8154° 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 Az Zulfī to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 742 km from Az Zulfī as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 561 km away. The distance is short enough that many pilgrims from Az Zulfī travel to the Hijaz by road.

Clocks in Az Zulfī 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 Az Zulfī rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Az Zulfī

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Az Zulfī 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 14:57 local time.

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

Az Zulfī compared with other cities

Compared with Riyadh, 262 km away, the Qibla in Az Zulfī is turned 20.0° further anticlockwise (224.1° against 244.2°), and Mecca is 51 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Buraidah (84 km), prays towards 218.6°, a difference of 5.5°.

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 Az Zulfī

• Buraidah218.6° · 84 km
• Unaizah220.1° · 84 km
• Riyadh244.2° · 262 km
• Hafar Al-Batin219.8° · 263 km
• Ha'il195.9° · 338 km
• Al Kharj249.9° · 348 km