From Kuwait City the Qibla is about 224.6° from true north – that is south-west, slightly closer to south-west than to west-south-west. The Kaaba in Makkah is roughly 1,200 km away. Use the compass tool below on your phone, or pick your area to see the exact angle. Across the populated parts of Kuwait the direction changes by less than 3°, so the same angle works for almost every home and office.
On this page
- How to use the Qibla compass above
- Qibla angle for each area of Kuwait
- Why the Qibla from Kuwait is south-west, not west
- True north, magnetic north and phone compasses
- How to find the Qibla without a phone
- Praying in hotels, offices, hospitals and on the road
- Qibla direction from nearby Gulf cities
- Setting up a prayer corner at home
- If you prayed in the wrong direction
- Common mistakes when finding the Qibla in Kuwait
- Prayer times and Qibla together
- Frequently asked questions
- Related tools
How to use the Qibla compass above
The tool above works in two ways. If you only want the angle, choose your area from the list (or tap “use my location”) and read the bearing in degrees. If you want your phone to point the way, tap the compass button and hold the phone flat; the arrow turns to the Qibla as you rotate.
- Open this page on your phone over a normal mobile or Wi-Fi connection.
- Select your area, or allow location access so the bearing is calculated from your exact position.
- Tap the compass button. On iPhone, Safari asks for permission to use motion and orientation – allow it.
- Hold the phone flat, away from metal objects, and turn slowly until the arrow points straight ahead.
- Mark the direction with something permanent – a sticker on the wall, a line on the prayer mat, or furniture placement – so you do not need to measure every time.
If the arrow jumps around, calibrate the compass by moving the phone in a figure-of-eight motion a few times, then try again.
Qibla angle for each area of Kuwait
The bearings below are great-circle directions from each area to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), measured clockwise from true north. They are the same values the tool uses.
| Area | Qibla (° from true north) | Distance to Makkah (km) |
|---|---|---|
| Abdali (north border) | 221.6° | 1,240 |
| Jahra | 223.5° | 1,180 |
| Jaber Al Ahmad | 224.1° | 1,191 |
| Kuwait City | 224.6° | 1,204 |
| Farwaniya / Khaitan | 224.9° | 1,195 |
| Hawally / Salmiya | 225.1° | 1,208 |
| Failaka Island | 225.7° | 1,234 |
| Mubarak Al-Kabeer | 225.6° | 1,195 |
| Ahmadi | 226.1° | 1,188 |
| Fahaheel / Mangaf | 226.3° | 1,192 |
| Wafra | 227.3° | 1,144 |
| Khairan | 228.9° | 1,177 |
Kuwait is small, so the Qibla barely changes: from Jahra to Fahaheel the difference is under 3°, and even between the far north at Abdali and Khairan on the southern coast it is only about 7°. In practice any error you see is far more likely to come from the phone’s compass than from your location.
Why the Qibla from Kuwait is south-west, not west
Makkah lies south-west of Kuwait – about 8° of latitude further south and 8° of longitude further west. On a flat map that looks like a 45° diagonal, and the great-circle calculation gives about 225°. Facing due west (270°) would put you about 45° off, which is a common mistake for people who arrive from South Asia, where the Qibla is close to west.
| If you face… | Bearing | Difference from the Qibla |
|---|---|---|
| Due south | 180° | About 45° too far left |
| South-west (the Qibla) | ≈225° | Correct |
| Due west | 270° | About 45° too far right |
True north, magnetic north and phone compasses
Qibla angles are always given from true north (geographic north). A magnetic compass points to magnetic north, which in Kuwait is about 4° east of true north. Most smartphones correct this automatically when location services are on. If you use an old needle compass, aim about 4° further to the right of the bearing you read – a difference smaller than most people can see.
- Keep the phone away from laptops, car dashboards, steel tables, speakers and magnetic phone holders.
- Remove magnetic cases or wallets while measuring.
- Measure in two or three spots in the room; if the readings differ by more than a few degrees, something nearby is disturbing the compass.
- In a car, the metal body distorts the reading – step outside to measure.
How to find the Qibla without a phone
- The nearest mosque: every mosque in Kuwait has its mihrab facing the Qibla. When you move to a new apartment, look at the angle of the nearest mosque from your balcony or on a satellite map – it is the most reliable reference.
- The sun at sunset: in Kuwait the sun sets at about 242° in December and about 298° in June. In winter the Qibla is roughly 17° to the left of the sunset point; in summer it is about 70° to the left.
- The building grid: many residential blocks in Hawally, Salmiya and Farwaniya are laid out roughly north–south. When you face north, the Qibla is toward the back-left diagonal.
- Map apps: open a map, draw an imaginary line from your location to Makkah and line up a wall or window with it.
Praying in hotels, offices, hospitals and on the road
Hotels in Kuwait usually mark the Qibla with a small arrow on the ceiling or inside a drawer, and most offices, malls, hospitals and petrol stations have a prayer room already aligned. At the airport, prayer rooms are signposted in the terminals. If you are driving across Kuwait, the direction stays south-west from anywhere in the country, so a quick check with the compass above is enough.
If you are travelling outside Kuwait the angle changes: the further south-east you go in the Gulf, the closer the Qibla moves to due west. Use the location option in the tool to recalculate wherever you are.
Qibla direction from nearby Gulf cities
Many Kuwait residents drive to Saudi Arabia or fly around the Gulf for work and holidays. The table compares the Qibla from Kuwait with other cities nearby, so you know how much to turn when you travel. All values are from true north.
| City | Qibla (° from true north) | Distance to Makkah (km) |
|---|---|---|
| Kuwait City | 224.6° | 1,204 |
| Basra | 220.0° | 1,285 |
| Riyadh | 243.8° | 790 |
| Dammam | 244.1° | 1,181 |
| Manama | 246.2° | 1,217 |
| Doha | 252.6° | 1,269 |
| Dubai | 258.2° | 1,631 |
| Muscat | 266.4° | 1,920 |
So if you cross into Saudi Arabia at Nuwaiseeb and drive to Riyadh, the Qibla gradually swings from south-west towards west-south-west. In Dubai or Muscat it is almost due west. The tool above recalculates automatically when you allow location access.
Setting up a prayer corner at home
When you move into a new flat in Kuwait, measure the Qibla once and set the room up around it. Choose a clean corner with enough space for sujood, away from the main walkway, and place the prayer mat so its top points along the bearing for your area. A small arrow sticker on the ceiling or a framed calligraphy on the Qibla wall helps guests and children too. If the room is narrow and you cannot line up exactly, a few degrees of deviation is not a problem.
If you prayed in the wrong direction
Scholars generally say that a person who made a sincere effort to find the Qibla and prayed, then later discovered a small error, does not need to repeat the prayer. Small deviations – a few degrees – are not a concern. If you learn of a large error during the prayer, turn toward the correct direction and continue. For specific rulings, ask the imam of your local mosque or the Ministry of Awqaf’s fatwa service.
Common mistakes when finding the Qibla in Kuwait
- Facing due west because the Qibla is west in your home country.
- Measuring next to a steel door, fridge or car, which can throw a compass off by tens of degrees.
- Trusting an uncalibrated phone compass without checking it against a nearby mosque.
- Using the direction of the main road; many roads in Kuwait run diagonally and do not follow the compass points.
- Copying the Qibla angle from a different city or country.
Prayer times and Qibla together
Knowing the direction is half of the job; the other half is the time. Our prayer times page for Kuwait shows today’s Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha with a countdown to the next prayer, using the Kuwait calculation method. In Ramadan, the Ramadan imsakiya gives suhoor and iftar times.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Qibla direction in Kuwait in degrees?
About 224.6° from true north in Kuwait City. Across Kuwait it ranges from roughly 221.6° at Abdali to about 228.9° at Khairan.
Is the Qibla from Kuwait west or south-west?
South-west. Facing due west would be about 45° off the Qibla.
How far is Makkah from Kuwait?
About 1,204 km in a straight line from Kuwait City to the Kaaba.
Is the Qibla the same in Salmiya, Jahra and Fahaheel?
Almost. Jahra is about 223.5°, Salmiya about 225.1° and Fahaheel about 226.3° – a difference too small to notice when praying.
Why does my phone show a different direction?
Phone compasses are affected by metal and magnets. Calibrate in a figure-of-eight, move away from metal and compare with a nearby mosque.
Does the compass tool work on iPhone?
Yes. Safari asks for permission to use motion and orientation when you start the compass; allow it and hold the phone flat.
Do I need to correct for magnetic declination in Kuwait?
It is about 4° east. Smartphones usually correct it automatically; with a needle compass the difference is small enough to ignore for prayer.