Qibla direction in Ladysmith

How to face the Qibla in Ladysmith

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 12.1° towards east: the result is the bearing of 12.1°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at north would leave you about 12° off.

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 Ladysmith, 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 Ladysmith to Mecca points to 11.0°, only 1.1° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 12.1° bearing remains the exact one.

The value of 12.1° is the direction in which the shortest route from 28.5587° S, 29.7790° 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 Ladysmith to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 5,661 km from Ladysmith as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 5,989 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 7 h 10 min, although most pilgrims from Ladysmith connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Ladysmith run 1 hour behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Ladysmith rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Ladysmith

On 365 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Ladysmith 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 11:59 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Ladysmith 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 Ladysmith: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Ladysmith compared with other cities

Compared with Pretoria, 350 km away, the Qibla in Ladysmith is turned 2.4° further anticlockwise (12.1° against 14.5°), and Mecca is 268 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (90 km), prays towards 12.0°, the same bearing to the tenth of a degree.

Across the 59 cities in South Africa on this site, the Qibla ranges from 9.4° in Richards Bay to 23.4° in Cape Town, a spread of 14.0°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for South Africa.

Qibla in cities near Ladysmith

• Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa12.0° · 90 km
• Pietermaritzburg11.2° · 132 km
• Vryheid11.0° · 132 km
• Mpumalanga10.9° · 162 km
• KwaDukuza10.2° · 170 km
• Ntuzuma10.5° · 174 km