Qibla Direction UAE: Exact Qibla Angles for Every Emirate

Which Way Is the Qibla Direction in the UAE?

Makkah sits at about 21.4° N, while most UAE cities lie between 24° and 26° N. Because the Kaaba is further south as well as far to the west, the Qibla direction UAE residents face is slightly south of west, not straight west. Sunset gives only a rough guide, since it shifts through the year.

The Qibla follows the great circle, the shortest route over the Earth’s surface. From Dubai that line crosses the Arabian Peninsula and passes roughly 150 km south of Riyadh on its way to Makkah. Every angle on this page was calculated along that route from the Kaaba’s coordinates of 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E.

Qibla Direction UAE Table by Emirate

The table below gives the true bearing for each emirate’s main city, the reading on a plain magnetic compass, and the straight line distance to the Kaaba. Magnetic values use declination from the World Magnetic Model 2025, which is about 2° east across the UAE. Use the true column with phone tools and the magnetic column with a needle compass.

Figures use each city centre, so your street may differ by a fraction of a degree. Smaller towns such as Khor Fakkan, Hatta, Ruwais and Liwa are listed in our Qibla compass city index list. For the exact angle at your building, use the live tool.

Why Qibla Direction in the UAE Changes by City

The further west and south you are, the closer the Qibla moves towards due west. That is why Liwa in the western region reaches about 265°, while Ras Al Khaimah in the north sits near 257°. Al Ain, inland and further south than Dubai, also turns more westward at 262.4°.

Within one city the change is tiny, so one angle covers a whole neighbourhood. Dubai and Fujairah, more than 100 km apart, differ by only 1.4°. The direction only needs rechecking when you travel between regions, such as from the east coast to Al Dhafra.

Distance From the UAE to Makkah

Straight line distances to the Kaaba range from about 1,356 km in Ruwais to 1,741 km in Khor Fakkan. Abu Dhabi is 1,527 km away, Dubai 1,631 km and Fujairah 1,734 km. Some websites quote around 2,000 km for the whole country, but great circle calculations show every main UAE city is well under that.

Distance matters because small angle errors grow with it. From Dubai, a 1° error shifts your line by about 28 km by the time it reaches Makkah. That is why calibrating your phone and checking the Qibla direction UAE tools give against a second method is worth the extra minute.

True North and Magnetic North in the UAE

Phone tools usually show the angle from true north, while a needle compass points to magnetic north. In the UAE the gap, called magnetic declination, is about 2° east and changes slowly over the years. So a needle compass in Dubai reads about 256° for the same direction a phone shows as 258.2°.

Neither reading is wrong, they simply use different references. Check which one your tool uses before comparing numbers. Our Qibla compass guide explains calibration and the iPhone True North setting in detail.

Finding the Qibla at Home, in Hotels and Offices

Mosques, mall prayer rooms and airport prayer rooms across the UAE mark the Qibla, so look for a sign or mihrab first. Many hotel rooms also have a small Qibla sticker on the ceiling or inside a drawer. At home, check the direction once and mark a wall so you never need a tool again.

Indoors, a map is more reliable than a compass because steel frames, TVs and wiring disturb phone sensors. Open the map, find a wall or window running along the Qibla line, and face along it. Our Qibla direction map guide shows how, including the flat map mistake that puts Dubai about 3° off.

Using the Sun to Find Qibla Direction in the UAE

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, and its shadow shows the Qibla anywhere in the UAE. In UAE time this happens at 13:18 on 27 or 28 May and 13:27 on 15 or 16 July. The UAE does not use daylight saving time, so these local times stay the same every year.

At that moment, face the opposite way from the shadow of any upright object, and you are facing the Kaaba. It is an easy way to check the marking in your home or majlis. Our how to find Qibla direction guide covers this and four other methods.

Qibla Direction Guides for UAE Cities

Each city guide covers the exact angle, distance, compass reading and local tips. Start with Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah or Al Ain. Guides for Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain follow the same format.

If your town is not listed, use the live tool or our city index table. Phone users can also compare methods in our Qibla finder app guide. Our Google Qibla Finder guide explains Google’s web tool.