Qibla

De **qibla** (Arabic: قبلة, lit. 'direction') be de direction towards de Kaaba insyd de Sacred Mosque insyd Mecca, wich be used by Muslims insyd various religious contexts, particularly de direction of prayer for de salah. According to Islamic tradition, dem dey believe de Kaaba to be a sacred site wey prophets Abraham den Ishmael build, den dat ein use as de qibla be ordained by God insyd several verses of de Quran dem reveal to Muhammad insyd de second Hijri year. Prior to dis revelation, Muhammad den ein followers insyd Medina face Jerusalem for prayers. Chaw mosques dey contain a *mihrab* (a wall niche) wey dey indicate de direction of de qibla.

De qibla sanso be de direction for entering de *ihram* (sacred state for de hajj pilgrimage), de direction to wich dem dey turn animals during *dhabihah* (Islamic slaughter), de recommended direction to make *dua* (supplications), de direction to avoid wen relieving oneself anaa spitting, den de direction to wich de deceased be aligned wen buried. De qibla fi be observed facing de Kaaba accurately (*ayn al-ka'ba*) anaa facing insyd de general direction (*jihat al-ka'ba*). Chaw Islamic scholars dey consider dat *jihat al-ka'ba* be acceptable if de more precise *ayn al-ka'ba* no fi be ascertained.

De most common technical definition wey Muslim astronomers dey use for a location be de direction on de great circle—insyd de Earth's Sphere—wey dey pass thru de location den de Kaaba. Dis be de direction of de shortest possible path from a place to se Kaaba, den dey allow de exact calculation (*hisab*) of de qibla dey use a spherical trigonometric formula wey dey take de coordinates of a location den of de Kaaba as inputs. Dem dey apply de method to develop mobile applications den websites give Muslims, den to compile qibla tables dem use insyd instruments such as de qibla compass. De qibla sanso fi be determined at a location by observing de shadow of a vertical rod on de twice-yearly occasions wen de Sun be directly overhead insyd Mecca—on 27 den 28 May at 12:18 Saudi Arabia Standard Time (09:18&nbsp;UTC), den on 15 den 16 July at 12:27&nbsp;SAST (09:27&nbsp;UTC).

Before de development of astronomy insyd de Islamic world, Muslims use traditional methods to determine de qibla. Dese methods include facing de direction wey na de companions of Muhammad use wen insyd de same place; dey use de setting den rising points of celestial objects; dey use de direction of de wind; anaa dey use due south, wich na be Muhammad ein qibla insyd Medina. Na dem build early Islamic astronomy on ein Indian den Greek counterparts, especially de works of Ptolemy, den soon Muslim astronomers develop methods to calculate de approximate directions of de qibla, dey start from de mid-9th century. Insyd de late 9th den 10th centuries, Muslim astronomers develop methods to find de exact direction of de qibla wich be equivalent to de modern formula. Initially, na dem use dis "qibla of de astronomers" alongside various traditionally determined qiblas, wey dey result in much diversity insyd medieval Muslim cities. In addition, de accurate geographic data necessary for de astronomical methods to yield an accurate result no be available before de 18th den 19th centuries, wey result in further diversity of de qibla. Historical mosques plus differing qiblas still dey stand today thru out de Islamic world. De spaceflight of a devout Muslim, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, to de International Space Station (ISS) insyd 2007 generate a discussion plus regard to de qibla direction from low Earth orbit, wey dey prompt de Islamic authority of ein home country, Malaysia, to recommend determining de qibla "base on wat be possible" for de astronaut.

## Location

De qibla be de direction of de Kaaba, a cube-like building at de centre of de Sacred Mosque (*al-Masjid al-Haram*) insyd Mecca, insyd de Hijaz region of Saudi Arabia. Oda dan ein role as qibla, e sanso be de holiest site give Muslims, dem sanso know as de House of God (*Bayt Allah*) den wer de *tawaf* (de circumambulation ritual) be performed during de Hajj den umrah pilgrimages. De Kaaba get an approximately rectangular ground plan plus ein four corners dey point close to de four cardinal directions. According to de Quran, Abraham den Ishmael wey build am, both of whom be prophets insyd Islam. Few historical records remain dey detail de history of de Kaaba before de rise of Islam, buh insyd de generations prior to Muhammad, dem use de Kaaba as a shrine of de pre-Islamic Arabic religion.

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