Seminar Kebangsaan Matematik & Masyarakat 2008

DETERMINATION OF QIBLA DIRECTION USING MODERN

APPROACH

1
Shahrul Nizam Ishak And 2Jamaludin Md Ali
1&2
School of Mathematical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Penang.
E-mail: 1 shahrulnizam83@gmail.com , 2 jamaluma@cs.usm.my

Abstract

The problem of determining the direction of qibla is a problem of

mathematical geography. The objective of this study is to determine and
compare the method to be used for determining qibla direction at Northeast
Penang. Thus, this paper describes about the mathematical calculation of
qibla by using modern approach. The mathematical methods used were
Spherical Trigonometry Method (STM) and Vector Calculus Method (VCM).
The discussion is confined to the scientific aspects of the subject and the
religion rulings are analyzed only for an underlying scientific assumption and
also for knowledge.

Keywords : Qibla , Qibla Direction , Mathematical Calculation.

1 Introduction

In the Holy Quran (chapter II: verse 144), Muslims are enjoined to face the sacred
precincts in Makkah during their prayers. The Kaabah was adapted by the Prophet
Muhammad as a physical focus of the new Muslim community and the direction of
prayer (qibla) was to serve as the sacred direction in Islam until the present day.
Islamic tradition prescribes that certain acts such as burial ceremony, recitation of the
Quran, announcing the praying time (azan) and the ritual slaughter of animals for
food have to be performed in the qibla direction whereas expectoration and bodily
functions should be performed in the perpendicular direction.
However, praying (solah) five times a day as stated in the Holy Quran has been
compulsory upon all mature Muslim as an individual obligatory (fardhu ‘ain). Thus,
in order to perform the prayer, basically Muslims have to learn how to perform it by
learning the law of prayer (fiqh solah) and also understand the philosophy behind the
prayer itself. Moreover, the solah must be performed with sincere reverence and
humility (khushu‘), otherwise it is considered invalid. Solah is performed by facing to
the direction of qibla (towards the Kaabah in Makkah) until the day of the judgment.
According to Halim et al. [1] stated that all of the Four-Imam in Islam community
such as Imam Maliki, Imam Hanafi, Imam Hanbali and Imam Syafie had agreed that
whoever wants to perform the prayer must direct their face and chest in the direction
of the Sacred Mosque (Kaabah) in Makkah. Mughniyah [2] stated that according to
Imam as-Syafie has briefly explained that it is compulsory for every Muslim to face
towards Kaabah while performing their prayer regardless of their distance from
Kaabah. If a person is able to determine the accurate qibla direction by himself then
he or she is expected to face towards its, otherwise it is acceptable to determine the
qibla direction based on his or her ability.

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Hence, base on concerning to the problem face by the Muslim, an action has to be
taken in order to provide right information to the Islamic community. So, to determine
accurate qibla is a Muslim responsibility. Thus, in modern eras, the determination of
qibla has changed from traditional approach to modern approach. Thus, many of the
Muslim scholars have determined ways and methods regarding the qibla direction.
Therefore, this paper will focus on the mathematics calculation in determining the
qibla direction, which is referring to the location of the cities that depends on its
latitude and longitude.

2 Methodology

In view of the present situation, it is appropriate to briefly outline the methodology

involved in qibla determination. The reasons because not many people understand the
basic formulation and occasionally confusion arise. The determination of the direction
of qibla involves solution in terms of latitude and longitude parameters. Therefore, for
all of the examples given were based on the geographical coordinate that were
adapted from Halim et al. [1] where Kaabah, m :
′ ′′ ′ ′′
(21° 25 15.6 North , 39° 49 29.1 East ) and the geographical coordinate place
or point of interest that have been chosen by the writers which is situated at Northeast
District of Penang ; Acheh Mosque, p : (5° 24′ 39′′ North , 100° 18′ 40′′ East ) .
[Calculation done on other location should correspond to the identified place but the
coordinate for Makkah (Kaabah) is fixed.]

Problem. The problem involves the solution using the spherical triangular formed by
the point or place interest, Makkah (Kaabah) and the North Pole. We are interested in
only one point of the two angles, which is the direction of Kaabah. Thus, we need to
solve for the angle θ . Note that the writers will focus on the Formula given below
because it is more accurate and easy to understand.

Method I. Spherical Trigonometry Method (STM)

Generally, to perform calculation with spherical triangles it is necessary to use the

formulae of spherical trigonometry. There are three different types special
trigonometrical formula for usage in spherical astronomy which can be found in Ilyas
[3]. This formula was derived from four-part formula.

Formula.
⎡ sin C ⎤
θ = tan −1 ⎢
⎣ sin a cot b − cos a cos C ⎥⎦
where θ = the qibla angle from North ( anticlockwise )
C = the different of longitude between p and m
a = 90o – the latitude of the point interest
b = 90o – the latitude of the Kaabah
(φ p , λ p ) = the geographical coordinate of the point interest, p
(φm , λm ) = the geographical coordinate of the Kaabah, m

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Proof. Given the four-part formula

cos a cos C = sin a cot b − sin C cot B

Thus,
sin C cot B = sin a cot b − cos a cos C
sin a cot b − cos a cos C
cot B =
sin C
sin C
tan B =
sin a cot b − cos a cos C
⎡ sin C ⎤
∴ B = tan −1 ⎢
⎣ sin a cot b − cos a cos C ⎥⎦ ,

Notation. B is the angle of qibla and denoted as θ in the above formula.

North

b C
a
m θ
( m , λm )
φ
Qibla
p (φ p , λ p )

Equator

Figure 1. Qibla Determination using STM

Example.
Let (φ p , λ p ) = ( 5.4108° , 100.3111° )

(φm , λm ) = ( 21.4210° , 39.8247° )

Then, C = ( λ p − λm ) = 60.4864°

a = 90o – φ p = 84.5892°
b = 90o – φm = 68.5790°

Thus, by substituting into the formula, we will get :

⎛ sin 60.4864 ⎞
θ = tan −1 ⎜ ⎟
⎝ (sin 84.5892 × cot 68.5790) − (cos 68.5790 × cos 60.4864) ⎠

= 68° 25′ 29′′

∴ Azimuth Qibla = 360° − θ = 291° 34′ 31′′

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Method II. Vector Calculus Method (VCM)

Abdali [4] said that if a plane cuts a sphere, the curve of intersection on the sphere is
always a circle. If the plane cutting the sphere also passes through the sphere’s center,
then the sphere is cut into two equal parts (hemispheres), and the circle of intersection
is called a great circle. A great circle has the same center and radius as the sphere
itself, and is the largest circle that can be drawn on the spherical surface. These
concepts are illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 2 ABCD is a Great Circle

Assumption. Consider the following assumption of this model: the earth is sphere in
shape but in reality earth is not a true sphere, actually geoids. According to Durani [5]
the earth can be considered as an APPROXIMATE SPHERE. The variation between
the actual shape of the earth (oblate ellipsoid or spheroid) and the approximating
sphere is not more than few degrees in azimuth and is not very significant for the
purpose of determination of the direction of Kaabah.

This VCM was developed to improve on the method for the determination of qibla
direction. Firstly, we have to determine the coordinates p and m (refer Figure 4).
Thus, this problem can be most easily solved by using spherical coordinates on the
earth. If we assume that the earth to be a sphere of radius ρ = 6378.137km , then each
point on the earth has spherical coordinate of the form ( 6378.137, θ , φ ) where
φ = latitude , θ = longitude.

The transformation from spherical coordinates to normal rectangular coordinates

where R is the radius of the earth.

Let SR denote the sphere of radius R centered at the origin in R3. In rectangular
coordinates
SR = {( x, y, z ) | x 2 + y 2 + z 2 = R 2 }

and in spherical coordinates

SR = {( R cos(θ ) sin(φ ), R sin(θ ) sin(φ ), R cos(φ ) ) | 0 ≤ θ ≤ 2π ; 0 ≤φ ≤ π}

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P(ρ , θ , φ)
φ ρ
0 z
Y
θ
Q
X
Figure 3 Spherical Coordinate

Theorem 1. [Spherical Phytagorean Theorem] For a right triangle ΔABC on a sphere

of radius R with a right angle at vertex C and sides of length a, b and c, then

⎛c⎞ ⎛a⎞ ⎛b⎞

cos ⎜ ⎟ = cos ⎜ ⎟ = cos ⎜ ⎟
⎝R⎠ ⎝R⎠ ⎝R⎠

B
γ

c a
β α

A C
b

Figure 4 Spherical Right Triangle

Proof. Rotate the sphere so that the point A has coordinates (R,0,0) and the point C
π
lies in the xy-plane. This will make β and the angles determining the point B.
2
Here β is the central angle determined by side AC, α is the angle determined by AC
and γ is the angle determined by AB. This gives us the following spherical
coordinates for the vertices of the triangle:

A = ( R,0,0 )
B = ( R cos(α ) cos( β ), R cos(α )sin( β ), R sin(α ) )
C = ( R cos(β ),0, R sin( β ) )

Using what we know about the dot product in R3G, wGe can find the cosine of the angle
γ . According to Anton et al. [6] the dot product u • v is defined by :

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G G
Definition. If u and v are nonzero vectors in 2-space or 3-space,
and if θ is the angle between them, then
JG JG JG JG
u • v = & u && v & cos θ

G
Therefore, based on the Figure 4, it shows that the vector u is a unit vector that
G
directs to the North and also tangent for the point of interest, p. Vector v is a vector
that has direction to the Kaabah, m.
Z

G
G u
v
m p

X
O

Y
Figure 4 Qibla Determination using VCM

Coordinates point of interest, p :

Xp = Rcos ( lalitude point of interest )

Yp = 0
Zp = Rsin ( lalitude point of interest )

Coordinates of Kaabah, m :
Xm = Rcos ( lalitude of Kaabah ) cos ( longitude difference between
point of interest and Kaabah )
Ym = Rcos ( lalitude of Kaabah ) sin ( longitude difference between
point of interest and Kaabah )
Zm = Rsin ( lalitude of Kaabah )
G
Hence, we determined the vector u as
G
u = − Z p , 0, X p
JJG JJG
Then, the normal vector N has to be determined. The normal vector N is obtained
JJJJG JJJG
by cross product, OM × OP and it is orthogonal to the great circle that connects
between p and m.
JJG
N = − Z pYm , Z p X m − X p Z m , X pYm

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= a ,b,c
G JJJG JJG
Thus, vector v is obtained from cross product OP × N and it is also tangent to the
point of interest.
G
v = − Z pb , Z p a − X p c , X pb

After that, apply the formula for dot product, by substituting all of the values obtained
and solve for theta, θ .
G G
⎛ u•v ⎞
cos θ = ⎜ G G ⎟
⎝ & u && v & ⎠
Finally, we will get the qibla direction by subtracting the theta with 3600.

∴ Azimuth Qibla = 360° − θ

Example. Let

Xp = cos ( 5.4108° ) ; Xm = cos ( 21.4210° ) cos ( 60.4864° )

Yp = 0 ; Ym = cos ( 21.4210° ) sin ( 60.4864° )

Zp = sin ( 5.4108° ) ; Zm = sin ( 21.4210° )

G G
Hence, after calculating the vector u and the vector v , apply the formula for dot
product :

−0.0943, 0, 0.9955 • 0.0302, −0.8101, −0.3189

cos θ1 =
(1)(0.8711)

θ1 = 111.5738°

Thus , θ = (180° − θ1 )

∴ Azimuth Qibla = 360° − θ = 291° 34′ 31′′

3 Numerical Evaluation

There are thirty-two samples of data that has been obtained from Halim et al. [1] and
it is not suitable to be shown here. The data taken indicates the geographical
coordinate of all the mosques around Northeast Penang in terms of latitude and
longitude. Thus, based on the data adapted, the values of the qibla direction are
generated using ‘VCalQLator’ system which is constructed by the authors. For
comparison, from the result obtained, it was analyzed by using the measurement of
variability. Hence, Table 1 illustrated the results as follows:

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Method Mean Variance Std. Deviation

STM 0.0137 0.0004 0.0193
VCM 0.0136 0.0003 0.0187
Table 1 Result Analysis of Mean deviation, Variance and Standard Deviation of data

According to Table 1, we judge based on the smallest standard deviation between

both methods. Hence, we found that the standard deviation for both methods is
slightly same but the standard deviation for VCM is 0.0187 which is smaller than
STM that is 0.0193. Therefore, comparing the two methods, the numerical results
achieved using VCM is found to be better and acceptable for the purpose of
determination of the qibla direction from any location.

4 Conclusion

In this paper we have presented two methods. STM is the previous method used and
VCM is the suggested method for current and future use for determining the qibla
direction. Based on the comparison made between STM and VCM, we can conclude
that the suggested method can be used to determine the azimuth of qibla from any
location in the world. Therefore, from this work we hope that it will give some benefit
especially to the Muslim communities regarding their routine worship. To put into a
nutshell, the authors recommended that further investigation can be extended using
this method of VCM with other point of view.

5 Acknowledgements

The authors would like to extend our gratitude and greatly indebted to the school of
Mathematical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia for supporting this work under its
Short-term Research Grant Account No. 304/PMATHS/637057.

References

[1] Halim A., Saad G., Aziz A., Zainal B., Jaafar H. & Sadali H.M. (2006), Ar-
Risalah Fi Tayin al-Qiblah, Pulau Pinang : Jabatan Mufti Negeri Pulau Pinang.

[2] Mughniyah M. J. (1996), Fiqh Lima Mazhab, Afif Muhammad (Translations),

Jakarta: Penerbit Lentera.

[3] Ilyas M. (1984), A Modern Guide to Astronomical Calculation of Islamic

Calendar, Times & Qibla, Kuala Lumpur, Berita Publishing.

[4] Abdali S.K., The Correct Qibla, http://www.patriot.net/users/abdali/ftp/qibla.pdf.

[5] Durani N.M. (1994), Direction For Kabah (Mathematical) – From Anywhere,
Islamic Society of North America(ISNA), New York.

[6] Anton H., Biven I. & Davis S. (2002), Calculus, John Wiley & Sons, 7th Edition.

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