Qiblah Direction Accuracy
| Q.) I'm a Korean Muslim who lives in Korea. I bought one Qiblah compass several months ago, and wanted to check it when I got it. I checked it in our Masjid in Seoul, and it didn't indicate proper Qiblah direction. I thought this compass was wrong, and told some Muslim friends about it as a joke. And they said that they knew that our Masjid is located not in the proper direction. After it, I got confused. For example when I do salat in the Masjid with others, I stand as they do. but when I do salat by myself, I don't know what I have to do. Do I have to do salat as the compass shows? Or as the Masjid is located? Please let me know. |
A.) In principle, the position in Salat (Qiblah) for those away from the Holy Ka'bah is the direction (Jihat) of the Ka'bah, not the actual Ka'bah. Accordingly, the Jurists (Fuqaha) have calculated the direction in degrees and ruled that a deviation of maximum 45 degrees is within the direction of the Ka'bah and the Salat will be valid.
And Allah Taala Knows Best.