Qibla direction in El Daein

How to face the Qibla in El Daein

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 39.0° towards north: the result is the bearing of 51.0°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “east” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in El Daein.

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 El Daein, 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 El Daein to Mecca points to 52.8°, only 1.7° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 51.0° bearing remains the exact one.

The value of 51.0° is the direction in which the shortest route from 11.4619° N, 26.1258° 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 El Daein to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 1,831 km from El Daein as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,028 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 2 h 39 min, although most pilgrims from El Daein connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in El Daein 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 El Daein rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in El Daein

On 125 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of El Daein 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 11:54 local time.

On 239 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 15:14.

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

El Daein compared with other cities

Compared with Khartoum, 828 km away, the Qibla in El Daein is turned 2.5° further clockwise (51.0° against 48.6°), and Mecca is 823 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Gereida (109 km), prays towards 52.3°, a difference of 1.3°.

Across the 18 cities in Sudan on this site, the Qibla ranges from 27.8° in Ad-Damazin to 61.9° in Geneina, a spread of 34.1°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Sudan.

Qibla in cities near El Daein

• Gereida52.3° · 109 km
• Nyala54.8° · 150 km
• Al-Fashir58.5° · 255 km
• En Nahud49.7° · 286 km
• Geneina61.9° · 457 km
• Al-Ubayyid46.7° · 484 km