Qibla · Northern Province
Qibla direction in Jaffna
To face the Kaaba in Jaffna, turn to 291.8° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (21.8° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,483 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Jaffna should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 291.8°, the Qibla of Jaffna. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 292° is all you need; a needle compass reads magnetic north and needs the local declination added or subtracted first.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Jaffna
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 21.8° towards north: the result is the bearing of 291.8°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 22° 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 Jaffna, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Jaffna is a handy reference, because the 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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Jaffna to Mecca points to 286.9° (west), 4.9° away from the correct 291.8°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 7 km longer than the true shortest route. The Qibla follows the great circle, the shortest path on the curved Earth, which is why the bearing differs.
How is the figure of 291.8° obtained? From the coordinates of Jaffna (9.6685° N, 80.0074° 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 Jaffna to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,483 km from Jaffna as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,577 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 46 min, although most pilgrims from Jaffna connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Jaffna run 2.5 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Jaffna rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Jaffna
On 134 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Jaffna 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 1 May 2027 it happens at 13:06 local time.
On 176 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 March (31 days), for instance on 1 February 2027 at 07:54.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | — |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 07:54 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 08:49 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 09:40 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 10:28 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 11:24 |
| 15 April 2027 | — | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 13:06 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 13:58 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 15:04 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 15:51 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 15:45 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 14:59 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 13:56 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 13:02 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | — | 11:57 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 11:03 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 10:01 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 09:07 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 08:01 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 07:08 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | — |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Jaffna: at 14:48 and 14:57 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Jaffna compared with other cities
Compared with Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka, 304 km away, the Qibla in Jaffna is turned 3.0° further anticlockwise (291.8° against 294.8°), and Mecca is 104 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Trincomalee (181 km), prays towards 292.7°, a difference of 0.8°.
Among the 7 cities in Sri Lanka on this site, Jaffna has the smallest Qibla bearing; the largest is 294.9° in Moratuwa. Across the country the direction varies by 3.1°.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Sri Lanka.
Qibla in cities near Jaffna
- Trincomalee292.7° · 181 km
- Kandy294.2° · 273 km
- Negombo294.5° · 274 km
- Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka294.8° · 304 km
- Kalmunai293.7° · 322 km
- Moratuwa294.9° · 322 km
Qibla in Jaffna: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Jaffna?
It is 291.8° from true north, which is west: 21.8° north of west.
How far is Jaffna from Mecca?
4,483 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,577 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Jaffna?
On 134 days of 2027 the sun stands in the Qibla direction; the table on this page gives the exact time for the 1st and 15th of each month.
Why is the Qibla in Jaffna not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 286.9°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Jaffna at 291.8°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 291.8° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.