Sun Aligns Directly Above the Kaaba Tomorrow, Offering a Rare Opportunity to Determine the Qibla

Makkah will witness one of its most remarkable annual astronomical events on Wednesday as the Sun aligns directly above the Holy Kaaba, giving millions of Muslims around the world a unique opportunity to determine the Qibla direction with exceptional accuracy—without using a compass or digital applications.

For centuries, astronomers and Islamic scholars have relied on this phenomenon to verify the direction of prayer, making it one of the most accurate natural methods for locating the Qibla.

Exact Time of the Alignment

According to Jeddah Astronomical Society President Eng. Majed Abu Zahra, the solar alignment will occur at 12:26:44 p.m. Makkah time (09:26:44 GMT).

At that precise moment, the Sun will reach an altitude of approximately 89 degrees and 56 minutes above the horizon, causing its rays to fall almost perfectly perpendicular to the Kaaba.

Why Does This Happen?

The phenomenon occurs when the Sun reaches the latitude of Makkah—approximately 21.4 degrees north—during its apparent annual movement across the sky.

This alignment takes place twice every year, once in late May and again in mid-July, with slight variations in timing caused by Earth’s orbit around the Sun.

How Can People Use It?

Taking advantage of the event is remarkably simple.

A person only needs to place a straight stick or any vertical object on a flat surface shortly before the announced time.

For locations where the Sun is visible above the horizon, the direction of the Sun at the exact moment points directly toward the Kaaba, while the shadow points in the opposite direction, allowing highly accurate verification of the Qibla.

Especially Valuable Outside Makkah

The phenomenon is particularly useful for Muslims living in Europe, North and South America, East Asia, Australia, and other distant regions, where it provides an easy and highly accurate method for confirming the Qibla direction in homes and mosques.

Closer to Makkah, it mainly serves as a way to verify existing Qibla orientations.

Shadows Nearly Disappear at the Grand Mosque

One of the most fascinating aspects of the event is that vertical objects inside the Grand Mosque cast almost no shadow at the moment of alignment because the Sun is nearly overhead.

Meanwhile, shadows in other parts of the world form predictable angles that can be used to identify the direction of the Kaaba.

A Natural Astronomical Phenomenon

Astronomers emphasize that the Sun’s alignment above the Kaaba is a completely natural astronomical event resulting from Earth’s orbit and the Sun’s apparent movement. It does not indicate that the Kaaba lies at the center of the Earth, as the Sun aligns with every location situated between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn when it reaches that location’s latitude during the year.

The event remains one of the clearest examples of how astronomy has historically supported Islamic sciences, particularly in determining prayer times and accurately identifying the Qibla for Muslims worldwide.