Qibla

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Qibla (قبلة, also transliterated as Qiblah, Kibla or 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 qibla.

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

1 History of the qibla
2 Two methods in determining the direction of the Qibla
- 2.1 North American rules: The traditional and the Mercator map
3 Substitution of the direction of the Qiblah
4 The Qiblah from Space
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History of the qibla

Facing the Qibla at a prayer in Damascus

At one point the direction of the qibla was toward Bayt al-Maqdis, Jerusalem (and it is therefore called the First of the Two Qiblas). At least since Mishnaic times (200 CE), 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 only lasted for seventeen months after Muhammad's arrival in Medina,^[1] after which the qibla 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 known as Masjid al-Qiblatain (Mosque of the Two Qiblas). Muhammad was leading the prayer when he received a revelation from Allah instructing him to take the Kaaba as the qibla (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 qibla, for any point of reference on the Earth, is the direction of the Kaaba. Some Muslims from North America determine this direction using a rhumb line, while most Muslims worldwide use a great circle. In Muslim religious practice, supplicants must face this direction in prayer. Muslims do not worship the Kaaba or its contents; the Kaaba is simply a focal point for prayer. If someone is inside the Kaaba, they are allowed to face in any direction.

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

[edit] Two methods in determining the direction of the Qibla

The geometrical calculation of Qibla (in French)

In the last 1000 years, several Muslim mathematicians and astronomers, such as Biruni, have discussed the correct way of determining the qibla direction from any point on the Earth's surface. All of them 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 qibla. This happens on May 27 or May 28 at 9:18 GMT and on July 15 or July 16 at 9:27 GMT.

Of course, at any time, only half of the globe is sunlit. Fortunately, there are two moments in each year when the Sun is directly over the antipodes of the Kaaba. At that time, the direction of shadows in any sunlit place will point directly towards the qibla. This happens on January 12 or January 13 at 21:29 GMT and on November 28 at 21:09 GMT.

Because the Earth is almost a sphere, this is almost the same as saying that the qibla from a place is the direction in which a bird would start flying in order to get to the Kaaba by the shortest possible way.

[edit] North American rules: The traditional and the Mercator map

In recent years, Muslims from North America have used two rules to determine the direction of the Qibla. A Muslim praying from Anchorage, Alaska should pray almost due North if determining the Qibla according to the traditional rule. However, when one looks at the world on a Mercator map, Mecca appears to be southeast of Anchorage. The rhumb line from most points in North America to Mecca will point toward the southeast, but the distance to Mecca along this route on the actual surface of the earth is longer than the traditional great circle route.

The vast majority of Muslim communities in North America face toward the northeast, following the great-circle route. A minority faces towards the southeast according to early Islamic methods including sighting the stars, sun, wind, etc.^[2]

Muslims consider the direction of Qibla 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.

Most Qibla calculating programs use the traditional method and don't mention the Mercator map method.

[edit] Substitution of the direction of the Qiblah

If the direction of the qiblah is unavailable, a Muslim can pray in any desired direction, as long as his/her intent is to perform prayer to God. However, the general direction is towards the west where the sun set.

[edit] The Qiblah from Space

In April of 2006, Angkasa, the Malaysian space agency, sponsored a conference of scientists and religious scholars to address the issue of how the qibla 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". [1]There have already been several Muslim astronauts, among them the very first being Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and the latest being the first Muslim woman in space Anousheh Ansari and the Russian Federal Space Agency will be taking a Muslim Malaysian astronaut into orbit in 2007.