Qibla direction in Juba

How to face the Qibla in Juba

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 25.0° towards east: the result is the bearing of 25.0°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at north would leave you about 25° off.

Facing the Qibla is a condition of the prayer. Whoever prays inside the Sacred Mosque faces the Kaaba itself; whoever is far away, as in Juba, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its prayer rows were aligned when it was built. Once you know the direction at home, a discreet mark on the wall saves you from checking again.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Juba to Mecca points to 25.8°, only 0.7° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 25.0° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 25.0° obtained? From the coordinates of Juba (4.8517° N, 31.5825° E) and of the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), spherical trigonometry gives the starting bearing of the great circle joining them. Mosque architects and astronomical Qibla tables rely on exactly the same calculation.

Distance from Juba to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 2,046 km from Juba as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,344 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 2 h 54 min, although most pilgrims from Juba connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Juba 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 Juba rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Juba

On 162 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Juba while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in May (31 days); for example, on 15 April 2027 it happens at 11:45 local time.

On 203 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 12:52.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Juba: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Juba compared with other cities

The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Yei (131 km), prays towards 26.4°, a difference of 1.3°.

Among the 5 cities in South Sudan on this site, Juba has the smallest Qibla bearing; the largest is 42.2° in Winejok. Across the country the direction varies by 17.1°.

See all cities on the Qibla page for South Sudan.

Qibla in cities near Juba

• Yei26.4° · 131 km
• Wau38.5° · 508 km
• Malakal32.5° · 521 km
• Winejok42.2° · 640 km