Qibla direction in Memphis

How to face the Qibla in Memphis

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 42.0° towards north: the result is the bearing of 48.0°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “east” would be off by more than 40°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Memphis.

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 Memphis, 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

This is a place where maps mislead badly: a straight line on a flat map from Memphis to Mecca points to 96.9° (east), a full 48.8° away from the true Qibla of 48.0° (north-east). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 960 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Memphis first heads north-east, and that is the direction to face.

The value of 48.0° is the direction in which the shortest route from 35.1495° N, 90.0490° W 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 Memphis to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 11,800 km from Memphis as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 11,529 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 14 h 23 min, although most pilgrims from Memphis connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Memphis run 9 hours behind Mecca in winter and 8 hours behind Mecca in summer, because of daylight saving time. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Memphis rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Memphis

From Memphis the sun never rises high in the Qibla direction of 48.0°, so you cannot simply face the sun. The opposite method works instead, as the right-hand column of the table shows.

On 365 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 15:30.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in Memphis (04:18 and 04:27 local time), so they cannot be used here. Instead, on 13 January 2027 at 15:29 and 28 November 2027 at 15:09 the sun is over the point opposite the Kaaba, and every vertical shadow in Memphis points straight to Mecca.

Memphis compared with other cities

Compared with Washington D.C., 1,227 km away, the Qibla in Memphis is turned 8.5° further anticlockwise (48.0° against 56.6°), and Mecca is 1,167 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Little Rock (209 km), prays towards 46.5°, a difference of 1.6°.

Across the 244 cities in the United States on this site, the Qibla ranges from 17.2° in Hillsboro to 350.9° in Anchorage, a spread of 333.7°. 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 States.

Qibla in cities near Memphis

• Little Rock46.5° · 209 km
• Clarksville49.7° · 287 km
• Tuscaloosa50.2° · 314 km
• Nashville50.2° · 316 km
• Jackson48.6° · 317 km
• Huntsville50.6° · 319 km