Qibla · Dubai
Qibla direction in Jebel Ali
To face the Kaaba in Jebel Ali, turn to 258.8° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (11.2° south of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 1,611 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Jebel Ali should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 258.8°, the Qibla of Jebel Ali. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 259° 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 Jebel Ali
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.
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 Jebel Ali, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Jebel Ali 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 Jebel Ali to Mecca points to 255.7° (west), 3.1° 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.
How is the figure of 258.8° obtained? From the coordinates of Jebel Ali (25.0026° N, 55.1081° 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 Jebel Ali to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 1,611 km from Jebel Ali as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 1,565 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 2 h 24 min, although most pilgrims from Jebel Ali connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Jebel Ali 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 Jebel Ali rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Jebel Ali
On 231 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Jebel Ali 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 17:51 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 06:42.
| 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 | 17:51 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 17:05 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 16:08 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 15:21 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 14:30 | 06:42 |
| 15 May 2027 | 13:49 | 07:21 |
| 1 June 2027 | 13:10 | 08:04 |
| 15 June 2027 | 12:53 | 08:27 |
| 1 July 2027 | 12:59 | 08:27 |
| 15 July 2027 | 13:25 | 08:06 |
| 1 August 2027 | 14:09 | 07:23 |
| 15 August 2027 | 14:48 | 06:41 |
| 1 September 2027 | 15:34 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 16:11 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 16:54 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 17:33 | — |
| 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 Jebel Ali: at 13:18 and 13:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Jebel Ali compared with other cities
Compared with Abu Dhabi Island and Internal Islands City, 94 km away, the Qibla in Jebel Ali is turned 1.4° further anticlockwise (258.8° against 260.2°), and Mecca is 82 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Dubai City (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 Jebel Ali
- Dubai City258.8° · 22 km
- Sharjah city257.9° · 48 km
- Abu Dhabi Island and Internal Islands City260.2° · 94 km
- Al Ain262.5° · 112 km
- Ras al-Khaimah256.9° · 121 km
- Fujairah259.7° · 125 km
Qibla in Jebel Ali: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Jebel Ali?
It is 258.8° from true north, which is west: 11.2° south of west.
How far is Jebel Ali from Mecca?
1,611 km in a straight line over the globe, and 1,565 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Jebel Ali?
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 Jebel Ali not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 255.7°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Jebel Ali 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.