The Qiblah refers to the direction of the Ka’bah to which Muslims should turn for prayer, wherever they are. Prayer is only permissible and valid if it is performed facing the Qiblah. This includes all prayers, whether obligatory or supererogatory, as well as the funeral prayer and the prostration of tilawat. The Qiblah is the Ka’bah itself for those in Makkah and the direction of the Ka’bah for those outside Makkah. If the qibla is not known for certain, the person praying must do research to determine the direction of the qibla. After the necessary research, he should pray in the direction of the qibla he has determined. In this case, the prayer is valid even if the qibla direction is wrong.
Usually, people determine the direction of qibla according to the mosques near their homes or workplaces. This way, there is no doubt about the direction of the qibla in the prayers we pray. This is because it is not possible for a person who turns towards the Qiblah in prayer to turn exactly towards the Ka’bah. In fact, it is considered sufficient to be facing towards Masjid al-Haram, which includes the Ka’bah. Nevertheless, it is a religious duty for the person praying to turn towards the Qiblah to the best of his or her ability.
How to find the direction of Qibla?
First, find out your location relative to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Your Qibla direction depends on where you are geographically located in relation to Mecca. For example, if you are in Europe, the qibla is usually to the southeast. In America, it is in the northeast; in Malaysia or Indonesia, it is in the northwest; in Russia, it is in the south; and in countries like India and Pakistan, it is in the west. In summary, finding the location of your country and city in relation to Mecca will help you determine the direction of Qibla. After this preliminary information, now let’s talk about the ways in which we can find the direction of qibla.
a) Finding the qibla direction with the sun
You can use the sun to determine your qibla direction. We can determine our qibla direction with the sun, which has been used by sailors for thousands of years to find direction. You can determine the west and east directions by observing where the sun rises and sets. After finding east and west, we can determine the other cardinal directions. When we face the direction of the sunrise in the morning, our front will be east, our back will be west, our right will be south and our left will be north. You can then determine the approximate direction of Mecca according to where you are.
The second method of finding the qibla with the help of the sun is using a stick. On a bright and sunny day, we can easily find the cardinal directions and determine the direction of Qibla with a stick. For this we will need a half or 1 meter stick if possible. Now follow the steps below and find the cardinal directions: Place a stick in the ground and mark the shadow tip. This marks West. Wait 15 minutes. Mark second shadow tip. This marks East. Draw a straight line between the West and East points. Then, draw a perpendicular line through it to represent true North and South. Or if you place your left foot on the first mark and your right foot on the second mark, your front will be north and your back will be south.
Thirdly, we can find the direction of Qibla with an analog (dial) wristwatch using the sun. As is well known, the short hand on a wristwatch is called the hour hand and the long hand is called the minute hand. In the northern hemisphere, position the hour hand of your watch (the short one that shows the time) so that it points towards the sun. The bisector between the hour hand and the 12 o’clock point (the line centering the hour hand and 12 o’clock) will point south. If your country is in the southern hemisphere, cross the sun with the 12 o’clock point, not the hour hand. That is, position the top 12 o’clock point towards the sun. The sun side of the bisector formed between the 12 o’clock point and the hour hand (the line centering the hour hand and 12 o’clock) will point north and the opposite will point south.
b) Finding direction and qibla with a compass
The first tool to be used for direction finding is usually a compass. If those who love nature sports, go on a trip or picnic keep such a compass with them, they will be very comfortable in determining the direction as well as determining the qibla. How will we find our direction with a compass? First of all, you should make sure that there is nothing metal around you. Hold the compass in your hand and parallel to the ground. Or place it on a table. Because the compass needle should be held in this way so that it can rotate comfortably. Wait until the compass needle is still. The colored tip of the compass needle points north. When you turn to the north side of the compass, your back side is south, your right side is east and your left side is west. Which side of Mecca is your location on? From here you can approximately determine your qibla direction. For example, in European countries, the qibla is generally to the southeast. (in the northern hemisphere)
If you want to find the qibla precisely with the help of a compass, do the following: First, find out the qibla degree for the compass in your location (you can easily find it by searching on the internet). Then hold the compass in your hand, horizontal to the ground. Wait until the compass needle is still. Turn the compass until the colored compass needle intersects the N on the compass bezel. Stop when the colored compass needle and N intersect. Assuming that we live in Istanbul, we have learned that the qibla of Istanbul is 146. Now we find 146 degrees from N on the compass frame. This direction indicated by the qibla degree is your qibla direction.
c) Finding direction with the north star at night
First, let’s explain how to find the North Star: How to find the pole star? The North Star is bright enough to be seen even among the lights of a city. Even when the moon is full, the north star can be detected. Therefore, finding Polaris (North Star) in the Northern Hemisphere means you know the north direction. Polaris is located in the constellation of the Little Bear. The 7 stars that make up the Little Dipper are also in this constellation. Polaris, the North Star, is at the end of the Little Dipper, whose stars look quite dim. Although we know that the star is located on the Little Dipper, the best way to find Polaris is to use Dubhe and Merak, the two guiding stars in the constellation of the Big Dipper. These two stars are located on the outside of the pot inside the Big Dipper. What you need to do is simple.
Just draw a line between these two stars and extend it about 5 times towards the Little Dipper and you will eventually find Polaris. If you have any questions, take a look at the image we have provided for you. If you have trouble recognizing the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper in the night sky, it will help to know the following information about these two constellations. When one is upright, the other is upside down. This means that the handles of the coffee pots will always lie opposite each other. Also, even though the Great Coffee Pot will go around and around Polaris all day long, Dubhe and Merak will always point to Polaris. If you move North on Earth, Polaris will climb higher in the sky. When you reach the North Pole, Polaris appears directly overhead. When you go south, Polaris moves closer to the horizon. If you cross the equator from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere, Polaris is below the horizon and cannot be seen. Now that we have found the pole star, you should know our direction: Once you have determined our north direction from the North Pole star, you can easily find the other directions based on what has already been described. (Source: uzay.co)
d) Finding Direction in Nature (Northern Hemisphere)
1) Ant Nests: Ants are warm and sun-loving animals. Therefore, they want to be exposed to more sunlight. Therefore, they build their nests in environments that can see the south side. In order to benefit more from the sun, they pile the mouth of their nests on the south side and the soil they remove on the north side so that it does not obstruct the sun. Or we can also say; ants keep the north-facing side of the soil they pile around their nests higher.
2) Wayfinding with mosses: Land mosses like moisture and do not like sunlight. Therefore, mosses/greening at the base or trunk of stones and trees point to the north. In the southern hemisphere, it is on the south side. This method can sometimes be inconclusive. For example, in some cases, in a humid environment, all or a significant part of the tree may be covered with moss.
3) Plants and Trees: Sunflower flowers in the northern hemisphere – at night – and cacti in the desert lean towards the south. Tree branches usually grow and elongate in a southerly direction. Especially when you look up from the bottom of large trees, you may notice that the branches are more dominated by the south side. If you see a freshly cut tree root in your neighborhood, look at the rings on it. The side with the shorter width of the rings is the north. The side with wider ring spacing is the south. The vegetation on the sun side of mountainous and hillside areas is richer. Therefore, plants on the south side of hillsides bloom and develop earlier.
4) Direction Finding with a Needle: You can also navigate with a metal needle, paper clip or thin metal. We can do this with a needle as follows: First magnetize the perforated thick side of the needle. (It can be done by rubbing a little on magnets or woolen clothes.) After magnetizing, place it carefully and horizontally on the water. If it sinks, we can do the same by placing it on paper or a leaf. The pointed end of the needle will rotate to point north. To prevent deviations, make sure that there are no metal objects, magnets, watches, cell phones around you.
5) Snow Melting: Snow on the south side of mountains melts more quickly. Snow on the slopes or on the north-facing side of mountains melts later.
e) Finding Qibla with a cell phone
It is possible to find the qibla direction with a cell phone in the following three ways.
1- You can find the qibla by downloading the qibla compass and similar applications from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. But for this, your cell phone must have a compass sensor feature.
2- You can find the qibla direction with the online maps technique from the internet. You can get your qibla direction line from sites that use Google Maps infrastructure. For example; like qiblafinder.org.
3- Learn the qibla degree of your location for the compass. Then, while the location service of your cell phone is active, open the compass application. Now find the Qibla for your location by rotating the cell phone. And that’s it. For more details, please see our topic “Finding Qibla Direction with Cell Phone”.
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