Qibla · Dubai
Qibla direction in Dubai City
To face the Kaaba in Dubai City, turn to 258.8° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (11.2° south of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 1,632 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Dubai City should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 258.8°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 259°; with a classic magnetic compass, first correct for the local magnetic declination, which can shift the needle by several degrees.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Dubai City
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 11.2° towards south: the result is the bearing of 258.8°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 11° off.
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 Dubai City is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Dubai City. 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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Dubai City to Mecca points to 255.6° (west), 3.2° away from the correct 258.8°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is not the true shortest route. The Qibla follows the great circle, the shortest path on the curved Earth, which is why the bearing differs.
The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 25.0773° N, 55.3093° 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 Dubai City to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 1,632 km from Dubai City as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,585 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 2 h 25 min, although most pilgrims from Dubai City connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Dubai City run 1 hour ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Dubai City rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Dubai City
On 231 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Dubai City while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 1 March 2027 it happens at 17:50 local time.
On 125 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 May (31 days), for instance on 1 May 2027 at 06:40.
| 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 | — | — |
| 15 February 2027 | — | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 17:50 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 17:03 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 16:07 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 15:20 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 14:30 | 06:40 |
| 15 May 2027 | 13:49 | 07:19 |
| 1 June 2027 | 13:10 | 08:02 |
| 15 June 2027 | 12:53 | 08:24 |
| 1 July 2027 | 13:00 | 08:25 |
| 15 July 2027 | 13:25 | 08:04 |
| 1 August 2027 | 14:09 | 07:21 |
| 15 August 2027 | 14:47 | 06:40 |
| 1 September 2027 | 15:33 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 16:10 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 16:53 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 17:32 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | — | — |
| 15 November 2027 | — | — |
| 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 Dubai City: at 13:18 and 13:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Dubai City compared with other cities
Compared with Abu Dhabi Island and Internal Islands City, 115 km away, the Qibla in Dubai City is turned 1.5° further anticlockwise (258.8° against 260.2°), and Mecca is 103 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Jebel Ali (22 km), prays towards 258.8°, a difference of 0.1°.
Across the 7 cities in the United Arab Emirates on this site, the Qibla ranges from 256.9° in Ras al-Khaimah to 262.5° in Al Ain, a spread of 5.6°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for United Arab Emirates.
Qibla in cities near Dubai City
- Jebel Ali258.8° · 22 km
- Sharjah city257.9° · 30 km
- Ras al-Khaimah256.9° · 102 km
- Fujairah259.7° · 104 km
- Al Ain262.5° · 109 km
- Abu Dhabi Island and Internal Islands City260.2° · 115 km
Qibla in Dubai City: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Dubai City?
It is 258.8° from true north, which is west: 11.2° south of west.
How far is Dubai City from Mecca?
1,632 km in a straight line over the globe, and 1,585 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Dubai City?
On 231 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 Dubai City not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 255.6°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Dubai City at 258.8°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 258.8° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.