San Rafael Qibla Direction
Find accurate Qibla direction from San Rafael, California, United States
Qibla Details for San Rafael
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Qibla direction in San Rafael?
The Qibla direction from San Rafael, California, United States is 18.7° (NNE) from North. This is the direction Muslims in San Rafael should face during their daily prayers (Salah).
How far is San Rafael from Mecca?
The distance from San Rafael to Mecca (Kaaba) is approximately 13,173 kilometers. This is the great-circle distance calculated using the Haversine formula.
How to find Qibla direction in San Rafael?
Use our free Qibla compass above. For the most accurate direction, click "Use My Exact Location" to enable GPS. On mobile devices, you can also enable the live compass feature which rotates in real-time as you move your phone.
How accurate is this Qibla direction?
Our Qibla calculation uses the great-circle bearing formula which provides 99.9% accuracy. The calculation accounts for Earth's curvature, ensuring precision regardless of distance. For your exact location within San Rafael, enable GPS for personalized accuracy.
What is the compass bearing for the Qibla in San Rafael?
The great-circle Qibla bearing from San Rafael is 18.7° (NNE). A fixed magnetic-compass (rhumb-line) heading would read about 96.7°. For prayer, use the great-circle value of 18.7°.
Finding Qibla Direction in San Rafael
The Qibla direction from San Rafael, California, United States is 18.7° from true north, pointing towards the north-northeast. The Kaaba in Mecca lies about 13,173 km (8,185 miles) away. Geographically, San Rafael sits to the north-northwest of Mecca, so the shortest path back to the Kaaba runs to your north-northeast.
The Qibla (قِبْلَة) is the direction that Muslims face when performing their daily prayers (Salah). All Muslims around the world face the Kaaba, located in Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, during prayer. From San Rafael, this means facing north-northeast (18.7°).
Great-circle vs compass bearing in San Rafael
Our Qibla finder uses the great-circle bearing (18.7°), the geometrically shortest path to Mecca across the curved surface of the Earth — the method accepted by most scholars. If you instead follow a single fixed compass heading (the rhumb-line bearing), it would be about 96.7° from San Rafael. The two differ because long-distance routes curve on a globe; for prayer, use the great-circle value of 18.7°.
Using a compass in San Rafael
A phone or magnetic compass points to magnetic north, which can differ from true north by several degrees depending on your exact spot in San Rafael. For the most reliable result, tap "Use My Exact Location" above so the compass corrects to your GPS position, then turn until it reads 18.7° (north-northeast) and shows ALIGNED.