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Overview

The Qibla utilities provide functions to calculate the direction to Mecca (Kaaba) from any geographical location. This is essential for determining the prayer direction for Muslims worldwide.

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calculateQiblaBearing

Calculates the Qibla bearing (direction to Mecca) from a given latitude and longitude using the great-circle distance formula. 
function calculateQiblaBearing(
  latitude: number,
  longitude: number
): number

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Parameters

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latitude
number
required
The latitude of the location in degrees. Valid range: -90 to 90.
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longitude
number
required
The longitude of the location in degrees. Valid range: -180 to 180.

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Returns

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bearing
number
The Qibla bearing in degrees (0-360), where:
  • 0° = North
  • 90° = East
  • 180° = South
  • 270° = West

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Example

import { calculateQiblaBearing } from '@/lib/utils/qibla';

// Calculate Qibla direction from New York City
const latitude = 40.7128;
const longitude = -74.0060;
const bearing = calculateQiblaBearing(latitude, longitude);

console.log(`Qibla direction: ${bearing.toFixed(2)}°`);
// Output: Qibla direction: 58.48°

// Calculate Qibla direction from Jakarta, Indonesia
const jakartaBearing = calculateQiblaBearing(-6.2088, 106.8456);
console.log(`Qibla direction: ${jakartaBearing.toFixed(2)}°`);
// Output: Qibla direction: 295.14°

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Reference Coordinates

The Qibla calculation uses the following coordinates for the Kaaba in Mecca:
  • Latitude: 21.422487°N
  • Longitude: 39.826206°E

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Algorithm

The function uses the spherical law of cosines to calculate the bearing:
  1. Converts input coordinates from degrees to radians
  2. Calculates the difference in longitude
  3. Applies the bearing formula: atan2(sin(Δlon) × cos(lat2), cos(lat1) × sin(lat2) - sin(lat1) × cos(lat2) × cos(Δlon))
  4. Converts the result back to degrees and normalizes to 0-360° range

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