Short answer: Muslims face the Kaaba in Makkah (Mecca) when they pray because Allah commanded it in the Quran (2:144). This direction is called the qibla. Muslims do not worship the Kaaba or the city: they worship Allah alone, and the Kaaba is simply the one direction that unites every Muslim in prayer, wherever they are. Before this command, the Prophet ﷺ and the first Muslims faced Jerusalem.
Because the earth is round, the qibla is the shortest path to Makkah over the globe. From most of the United States and Canada that is roughly north-east, not south-east as a flat map suggests.
What the Quran says
قَدْ نَرَىٰ تَقَلُّبَ وَجْهِكَ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ ۖ فَلَنُوَلِّيَنَّكَ قِبْلَةًۭ تَرْضَىٰهَا ۚ فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ ۚ وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنتُمْ فَوَلُّوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُۥ ۗ وَإِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ لَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ ٱلْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ ۗ وَمَا ٱللَّهُ بِغَٰفِلٍ عَمَّا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿١٤٤﴾
Qad naraa taqalluba wajhika fis samaaa'i fala nuwalliyannaka qiblatan tardaahaa; fawalli wajhaka shatral Masjidil haaraam; wa haisu maa kuntum fawalloo wujoohakum shatrah; wa innal lazeena ootul Kitaaba laya'lamoona annahul haqqu mir Rabbihim; wa mal laahu bighaafilin 'ammaa ya'maloon
We have certainly seen the turning of your face, [O Muhammad], toward the heaven, and We will surely turn you to a qiblah with which you will be pleased. So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-Haram. And wherever you [believers] are, turn your faces toward it [in prayer]. Indeed, those who have been given the Scripture well know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do.
Quran 2:144 · Sahih International · Read Surah Al-Baqarah
The Quran answers those who asked why the direction changed: "To Allah belongs the east and the west" (2:142), and "wherever you [might] turn, there is the Face of Allah" (2:115). It also warns that righteousness is not just turning your face east or west, but faith and good deeds (2:177).
What happened in Madinah
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed towards Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) for sixteen or seventeen months, and he loved to be turned towards the Kaaba, so Allah revealed: "We have certainly seen the turning of your face toward the heaven".
Sahih al-Bukhari 399 (also 40); Sahih Muslim 525 · narrated by al-Bara ibn Azib · sahih
A man who had prayed with the Prophet ﷺ passed a group of Ansar who were bowing in the Asr prayer towards Jerusalem. He told them, and they turned round towards the Kaaba in the middle of their prayer. Later, Umar ibn al-Khattab made clear that no power lies in the Kaaba's stones:
إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ أَنَّكَ حَجَرٌ لاَ تَضُرُّ وَلاَ تَنْفَعُ، وَلَوْلاَ أَنِّي رَأَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ يُقَبِّلُكَ مَا قَبَّلْتُكَ
I know that you are a stone that neither harms nor benefits. Had I not seen the Prophet ﷺ kiss you, I would not have kissed you.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1597; Sahih Muslim 1270 · Umar, speaking to the Black Stone · sahih
The wisdom scholars mention
- A test of following. The Quran gives this reason itself: the change was made "to make evident who would follow the Messenger" (2:143).
- Unity. Every Muslim, in every country, faces one point. Around the Kaaba itself, people pray in circles facing its centre.
- Order. Rows in the mosque line up behind the imam in one direction.
- The house of Ibrahim. The Kaaba links Muslims to the prophet who built it for the worship of one God.
Wisdom, not the reason. These are benefits scholars have reflected on. Muslims follow this because Allah and His Messenger ﷺ commanded it, and would follow it even if none of these benefits were known.
The ruling, Hanafi first
Facing the qibla is a condition of the prayer. Someone who can see the Kaaba must face it exactly; anyone far away faces its general direction, and a small deviation does not harm. If you cannot find the qibla and there is no one to ask, use your best judgement and pray; the prayer is valid even if you later learn you were off. Voluntary prayers may be prayed on a moving vehicle outside a town, facing wherever it goes.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- The stronger view is that you must aim at the Kaaba itself (ayn), by your best effort, even from far away.
- Maliki, Hanbali
- Someone far away faces the direction of the Kaaba, as in the Hanafi school.
Find the qibla from where you are
A qibla compass for your phone, the exact bearing for your city, and how to check it with the sun.
Open the qibla finderMore "why do Muslims" questions
- Why do Muslims not eat pork?
- Why do Muslims wear the hijab?
- Why do Muslims wash their feet?
- Why do Muslims pray five times a day?
- Why do Muslims go to Makkah?
- Why do Muslims have beards?
- Why do Muslims eat halal?
- Why do Muslims say peace be upon him?
- Why do Muslims shave a baby's head?
- Why do Muslims not drink alcohol?
- Why do Muslims get circumcised?
- Why do Muslims fast in Ramadan?
FAQ
Do Muslims worship the Kaaba, the black cube?
No. Muslims worship Allah alone. The Kaaba is a house built for His worship and the direction of prayer. Umar said to the Black Stone that it neither harms nor benefits.
Which direction is Makkah from the US?
From most of the US and Canada, the qibla is roughly north-east along the shortest path over the globe. Use our qibla finder for the exact angle for your city.
What did Muslims face before Makkah?
Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis), for about sixteen or seventeen months after the Prophet ﷺ moved to Madinah, until 2:144 was revealed.
What if I do not know where the qibla is?
Ask someone, use a compass or app, or look at how a nearby mosque is built. If none of that is possible, use your best judgement and your prayer is valid.
Do Muslims always face east?
No. They face Makkah, which is east only for places west of it, such as North Africa. From India and Pakistan the qibla is west.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.
Sources
- Quran 2:115, 2:142-144 and 2:177, translation by Sahih International.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 40 and 399, and Sahih Muslim 525, from al-Bara ibn Azib.
- Sahih al-Bukhari 1597 and Sahih Muslim 1270, from Umar ibn al-Khattab.
- Al-Marghinani, al-Hidayah, Kitab al-Salah (istiqbal al-qiblah), for the Hanafi position.
- The other schools' positions are summarised from their standard manuals, as on our qibla page.
Quran: Arabic from the Tanzil Uthmani text, English translation by Sahih International. Hadith gradings are those of the hadith scholars named. AmalKit cites the scholars; it does not issue fatwas.