Qibla Finder
Find the Qibla direction from your coordinates, with uncertainty shown when location accuracy affects the result.
Why this exists
A Qibla tool can show a precise-looking arrow without explaining whether the location or the device heading behind it can be trusted. That makes a calculation look more certain than the evidence supports.
Qibla Finder separates calculating a geographic direction from physically orienting a phone. It calculates a true-north bearing from a selected location, communicates location-derived uncertainty, and exposes a clearly labelled experimental, best-effort compass only when the browser supplies an interpretable absolute heading.
What it does
Choose browser location after an explicit permission request, or enter decimal coordinates manually. The tool returns a true-north Qibla bearing when the selected location and geometry support one clear result.
Browser location accuracy is kept separate from the bearing. A reported 95% location radius can produce a location-derived bearing range, while manual coordinates are labelled as having no supplied location accuracy. Near unstable geometry, the tool suppresses a single direction rather than manufacturing precision.
How direction is calculated
V1 uses the initial bearing of the shorter spherical great-circle arc from the selected coordinate to a documented Ka‘bah engineering reference point. The bearing is measured clockwise from true north.
This is a declared calculation convention, not a claim that every other mathematical convention is religiously invalid. Alternative geodetic models exist; the project documents its chosen convention and its limitations instead of presenting competing outputs as a vote.
Methods are not votes
Different methods answer different questions. A visualization of the same calculation is not independent verification, and a stable phone arrow does not by itself prove that a device heading is accurate.
Geographic calculation
Determines a direction mathematically from a location and a declared reference convention. This is the V1 core.
Device heading
Can help orient a device only when its reference and screen handling are interpretable. The experimental browser compass remains best-effort: it does not turn a stable phone arrow into proof of accuracy.
Map and Sun methods
A map can visualize the calculation; it is not a second mathematical result. Rashdul Qiblat can offer physical astronomical evidence under suitable conditions, but V1 explains it only and does not compute events.
Established local direction
A verified local line or qualified authority can be more appropriate for a permanent prayer space than a visitor’s phone reading.
Accuracy and uncertainty
The calculation retains numerical precision internally but displays a bearing to one decimal place. That display convention is not a claim about religious tolerance, physical alignment, or device accuracy.
The documented reference point is an engineering input, not an exact official or surveyed building centre. When small changes to location or reference choice would materially change the public display, Qibla Finder shows a range or withholds a single result.
The optional live compass is a best-effort sensor aid. Device quality, calibration, tilt, nearby magnets, metal, electronics, vehicles, indoor conditions, and browser limits can affect a heading; a stable arrow alone does not establish accuracy. Its sensor confidence remains separate from browser location accuracy.
Other ways to cross-check direction
These are separate checks, not extra votes on the same screen. The map, static schematic, and phone compass all present or orient the same calculated geographic bearing in different ways.
Rashdul Qiblat / solar verification
At an institutionally published global Rashdul Qiblat event, a vertical object on a level base can provide an independent astronomical cross-check: the Qibla ray runs from the shadow tip toward the object base. It requires direct sunlight, accurate synchronized time, and a current source. Qibla Finder does not compute event times.
Established direction and landmarks
An established mosque or musalla line, or a geographic landmark with independently verified orientation, can be a practical local cross-check. Their provenance matters; the product does not assume every existing line is automatically correct.
Qualified local authority
For material uncertainty or disagreement, seek an appropriate local falak or religious authority. The tool does not adjudicate between a phone result and an established community direction.
Professional survey
Permanent mosque or musalla alignment can require a qualified surveyor using controlled reference, levelling, and theodolite or total-station methods. Qibla Finder is not a survey certification product.
Religious and practical boundaries
Facing the Qibla is a shared requirement, while juristic treatment distinguishes directly seeing the Ka‘bah from determining its direction from afar. Reasonable effort and the evidence available matter; the product does not flatten those questions into one universal rule.
Qibla Finder is an engineering and educational aid. It does not issue a ruling on prayer. If the Ka‘bah is visible, face it directly. For an established mosque line, material disagreement, or permanent alignment, use verified local direction or consult qualified local religious, falak, or survey expertise. When using a phone compass, hold it level and clear of magnets or metal; a stable arrow alone does not prove accuracy.
History and science
Qibla determination has used practical orientation, astronomical observation, mathematical geography, tables, and surveying across different places and periods. Al-Biruni documented sophisticated mathematical approaches to determining Qibla direction.
Modern browser location can make a geographic calculation convenient, but it does not remove the need to distinguish coordinate quality, Earth-model convention, device orientation, and physical observation.
Privacy and methodology
Qibla calculations run in your browser from the coordinates you select. The core calculation does not need geocoding or an application-server calculation service. Browser or operating-system location services may use their own services when you choose browser location.
After a valid bearing, you may explicitly enable a map and area label. OpenStreetMap tiles and the optional Nominatim lookup reveal the viewed area and network information to those providers; no external request is needed to enter manual coordinates or calculate a bearing.
The project methodology records its spherical convention, documented engineering reference point, uncertainty rules, suppression behavior, research sources, and known limitations.