Back to search

What is the ruling on a significant deviation from the Qiblah in mosques? Is it sufficient for the Imam to face the Qiblah for the prayer of the congregants to be valid? Is it permissible to deviate from the row to face the Qiblah?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Worshippers must face the direction of the Kaaba, and the Imam and congregants must strive to ascertain it. Whoever is far from the Kaaba, their obligation is to face its direction, not its precise location, based on the Almighty's saying: "And wherever you are, turn your faces toward it," and the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "What is between the East and the West is a Qibla." A slight deviation (40 degrees) from the Qibla does not harm. Therefore, it is obligatory for the people of every mosque to accurately ascertain the Qibla, and for all worshippers to stand facing its direction.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy