Introduction

The determination of the Qibla, or the direction Muslims face during prayer, is a subject of both religious and scientific inquiry. For Muslims living in America, the Qibla direction can be somewhat confusing due to varying opinions on whether to face southeast or northeast. This article explores the scientific reasoning behind these directions, using a detailed analysis of the Earth’s geography and geometry.

Understanding Qibla Direction

The traditional understanding is that the Qibla for those in America is southeast. However, some argue for a northeast direction, and this article explains the logic and geometry behind both perspectives.

3D Globe and Path Calculation

Using Google Earth, a 3D model of the globe helps visualize the Qibla direction. If you draw a straight line from a point in America to Mecca, it appears to head northeast. This is based on the geodesic path, which is the shortest distance between two points on a curved surface, like the Earth.

Geodesic Paths and Magnetic North

If you follow the Geodesic path and use the centre of the earth as a datum. You will indeed find that the Kiblah should be northeast, at least until you cross a certain line of the equator. For Utah for example, this would be an Eastern facing Qibla. Several axes are used to understand these paths:

1. Center of the Earth to Magnetic North: This axis helps to locate positions accurately. This is also the axis that points to north.
2. From a Point in America to Mecca: This axis shows the shortest path from a point in America (Utah) to Mecca. It’s important to note that you cannot and would not face this axis as you would be facing down onto the earth.
3. Center of the Earth to East: This axis points to the easterly point on earth. This creates the westeast plane, which is always perpendicular to the northsouth plane. See image below.

Planes and Slices

When viewing from this position you instead get a South Eastern Qibla as the Earth is cut to match the NS plane and the EW plane.

1. North-South Plane: Cutting through the Earth’s center, this plane helps understand the true north and south.
2. East-West Plane: Always perpendicular to the North-South plane, it shows the true east and west directions.

When these planes are used to determine the shortest path, the results show that the southeast direction aligns with the Qibla.

Adjustments and Real-world Applications

Adjustments are made to the model to see the effects of different perspectives:

1. Cutting the Earth at Different Angles: This shows how the mass and direction change.
2. Moving the Point of Origin: From various locations in North America, the direction slightly varies but generally stays northeast.

The calculations confirm that regardless of the position in North America, the southeast direction remains consistent when considering the NS, EW planes.

Using the Sun as the Datum

If we use the Sun instead a datum, we find that the Ecliptic Plane (this is the plane that all planets orbits around the Sun) cross section perfectly coincides with the southeast Qibla.

Due to the actual size of the Sun and its distance, it’s impossible to showcase here without making Earth smaller than a single point. The image below showcases the Earth being “cut” by the ecliptic plane, including the 23.44° axis tilt. We see at this point, that the Qibla is indeed southeast.

Your datum vs God’s datum

If we follow the Geodesic path (having the curvature of the earth as a primary source of direction, then NE supercedes the current teachings of the Messenger of the Covenant. Even by this logic, however, you must use the Earth’s core as your datum, where the projection begins by looking down at the core then establishing the Qibla.

However, who decided that Geodesic path or the Earth’s core is the datum? Is that us the humans on earth? With a change in reference (by cutting the earth East West) we find instead the Qibla is southeast.

If we obey God’s messenger, we see that another referential point can be used – the Sun. Using this as a reference point, the ecliptic plane coincides beautifully with the South Eastern Qibla. Considering the grand scale of the universe, I would hedge my bet and go with what God has prescribed for me. Southeast it is.