Qibla

Qiblah (Arabic :<big>قبلة</big>, also transliterated as Kiblah) is an Arabic word for the direction that should be faced when a Muslim prays during Salah. Most mosques contain a niche in a wall that indicates the qiblah.

The qiblah has importance to more than just the salaat, and plays an important part in everyday ceremonies. The head of an animal that is slaughtered using Halal methods is aligned with the qiblah. After death, Muslims are buried with their faces in the direction of the qiblah. Thus, archeology can indicate a Muslim necropolis if no other signs are present.

History of the Qiblah

Originally, the direction of the Qiblah was toward the Noble Sanctuary (Temple Mount) in Jerusalem (and it is therefore called the First of the Two Qiblahs). At least since Mishnaic times (AD200), Jews face the Temple Mount in Jerusalem while praying. The Mishnah speaks about this in Berakhot (Talmud) chapter 4, Mishnahs 5 and 6 and this practice is even found as early as I Kings 8:35-36. In Islam, this qiblat was used for over 13 years, from 610 CE until 623 CE. Seventeen months after Muhammad's 622 CE arrival in Medina, the Qiblah became oriented towards the Kaaba in Mecca. According to accounts from the prophet Muhammad's companions, the change happened very suddenly during the noon prayer in Medina, in a mosque now known as Masjid al-Qiblatain (Mosque of the Two Qiblahs). Muhammad was leading the prayer when he received revelations from Allah instructing him to take the Kaaba as the Qiblah (literally, "turn your face towards the Masjid al Haram").

According to the historical accounts, Muhammad, who had been facing Jerusalem, upon receiving this revelation, immediately turned around to face Mecca, and those praying behind him also did so.

The Qiblah, for any point of reference on the Earth, is the direction of the Kaaba. Some Muslim communities in North America face toward the northeast, following the great-circle route. The Islamically correct way of prayer in North America is towards the southeast according to many clarifying verses in the Quran (i.e. Surat Al-Baqarah Ayas 144, 150) See http://www.qiblah.us for more information. Muslims do not worship the Kaaba or its contents; the Kaaba is simply a focal point for prayer. If someone is inside the Kaaba, or the exact opposite point on earth, they are allowed to pray facing any direction.

In ancient times, Muslims traveling abroad used an astrolabe to find the Qiblah.

Two methods in determining the direction of the Qiblah

Several Muslim mathematicians and astronomers, such as al-Biruni, have discussed the correct way of determining the Qiblah direction from any point on the Earth's surface. They agree that at the two moments in each year when the sun is directly overhead the Kaaba, the direction of shadows in any sunlit place will point directly away from the Qiblah. This happens on May 27 or May 28 at 9:18 GMT and on July 15 or July 16 at 9:27 GMT.

Likewise there are two moments in each year when the Sun is directly over the antipodes of the Kaaba. This happens on January 12 or January 13 at 21:29 GMT and on November 28 at 21:09 GMT.

North American rules: The traditional and the Mercator map

When one looks at the world on a Mercator map, Mecca is southeast. The rhumb line from points in North America to Mecca will point toward the southeast.

Some Muslim communities in North America face toward the northeast, following the great-circle route. The Islamically correct way of prayer in North America is towards the southeast according to many clarifying verses in the Quran (i.e. Surat Al-Baqarah Aya 150) See http://www.qiblah.us for more information.

Muslims consider the direction of Qiblah very important because the fact that all Muslims pray towards the Kaaba is traditionally considered to be symbol of the unity of all Muslims worldwide under the law of God.

The Qiblah from space

In April 2006, Angkasa, the Malaysian space agency, sponsored a [http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2006-04/19/article04.shtml conference] of scientists and religious scholars to address the issue of how the Qiblah should be determined when one is in orbit. The conference concluded that the astronaut should determine the location of the qibala ""according to [their] capability". There have already been several Muslim astronauts, among them the very first being Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the latest being the first Muslim woman in space Anousheh Ansari and the Malaysian angkasawan Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has stated that one should face the direction of the Earth. Ayatollah Al-Sistani follows the Shiite sect of Islam.

Translation

The word "Qibla" occurs as such in the following languages: English, Danish, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian (Bokmål), Norwegian (Nynorsk), Portuguese, Simple English, Finnish, Swedish.

Translation(s) in other languages: Arabic: قبلة, Azeri: Qiblə, Bosnian: Kibla, Catalan: Alquibla, Czech: Kibla, Estonian: Qiblah, Spanish: Alquibla, Esperanto: Kiblo, Persian: قبله, Korean: 키블라, Indonesian: Kiblat, Hebrew: קיבלה, Javanese: Kiblat, Kurdish: Qible, Hungarian: Kibla, Malayalam: ഖിബ്‌ല, Malay: Kiblat, Japanese: キブラ, Polish: Kibla, Russian: Кибла, Albanian: Kibla, Serbo-Croatian: Kibla, Telugu: ఖిబ్లా, Thai: กิบลัต.