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Fatwa CenterConsidering the spherical shape of the earth in defining the Qiblah
Question
salaam alaikum brothers Is the qibla direction calculated by keeping the map of the world in a flat way or seeing the location of mecca on the 'circular' globe? for example, from newyork to mecca the direction of qibla on a flat map is south east. and if we see the globe its north east. please explain which to follow. Jazak Allah
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.
A person who is not able to see the Ka'bah is obliged to stand towards its direction and not exactly stand towards the body of the Ka'bah itself.
For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 86310.
Therefore, a person who is far from the Ka'bah and is not able to see it, is only obliged to direct himself towards its direction to an extent that he is predominantly sure that the Qiblah is in the direction in front of him.
As regards on which map one should rely, the answer is that one is obliged to direct himself to the direction of Ka'bah considering the closest distance and the spherical shape that Allaah created the earth with and not to a direction based on the assumption that the earth was flat.
Allaah Knows best.
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