Muslims pray towards the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, which is known as the Qibla. The Qibla is the fixed direction towards which all Muslims face when performing their prayers, wherever they are in the world. The Qibla compass is a modified compass used by Muslims to indicate the direction to face to perform prayers. The direction of prayer is indicated by marks on the perimeter of the dial, corresponding to different cities, or by a second pointer set by the user according to their own location. To determine the proper direction, one has to know with some precision both the longitude and latitude of ones own location and those of Makkah.
While it is commonly believed that Muslims are to pray facing east, this is not true. The direction of the Qibla varies from place to place, but an effort is made to enforce uniformity in any given location. In places where Muslims are accustomed to praying, it’s not uncommon to see the Qibla indicated by an arrow on the ceiling with the legend Makkah.
In the United States, most Muslims face northeast when praying towards the Qibla. Determining the Qibla with greater accuracy was a motivator for the development of geometry in the Islamic golden age.
