What are the available means for determining the direction of the qiblah in the desert, and what is the ruling on one who always keeps the sun on his left?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Peace be upon you, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The questioner : Regarding determining the direction of the qiblah in the desert, some people place the sun on their left and then pray. Is this method correct, or are there other means to determine the direction of the qiblah in the desert?
The Shaykh : Where are they located? For example, are they here in al-Qasim?
The questioner : Any desert, O Shaykh!
The Shaykh : Any desert? That is not correct. If we assume they are in Sham, how can they place the sun on their left?
The questioner : They are in any location, O Shaykh, where they place it on their left and pray.
The Shaykh : No, no, that is a mistake. This is a great mistake. Even here in Najd, for example, the sun is not on the left. The sun is always on the right in the 'Asr prayer, but in winter it is close to the right, and in summer it is far away, almost directly to your right, one hundred percent. But in winter it is not like that, because it moves toward the south.
As for the Zuhr prayer, in summer, at the end of the long day, it is directly above him at the time of zawal. But in winter, it is on the right, on his right. This is in Najd. It also differs between the south, the north, and the middle.
As for the means to determine the qiblah, devices have now appeared, and praise be to Allah, that guide a person. These are devices numbered with specific numbers, and devices based on lines of longitude and latitude, and others, and they are varied. Among the best I have seen is a watch called: "The 'Asr Watch", which guides you to the times of prayer and to the qiblah. But it has a program that a person needs to know, so it guides you to the qiblah.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The questioner : Regarding determining the direction of the qiblah in the desert, some people place the sun on their left and then pray. Is this method correct, or are there other means to determine the direction of the qiblah in the desert?
The Shaykh : Where are they located? For example, are they here in al-Qasim?
The questioner : Any desert, O Shaykh!
The Shaykh : Any desert? That is not correct. If we assume they are in Sham, how can they place the sun on their left?
The questioner : They are in any location, O Shaykh, where they place it on their left and pray.
The Shaykh : No, no, that is a mistake. This is a great mistake. Even here in Najd, for example, the sun is not on the left. The sun is always on the right in the 'Asr prayer, but in winter it is close to the right, and in summer it is far away, almost directly to your right, one hundred percent. But in winter it is not like that, because it moves toward the south.
As for the Zuhr prayer, in summer, at the end of the long day, it is directly above him at the time of zawal. But in winter, it is on the right, on his right. This is in Najd. It also differs between the south, the north, and the middle.
As for the means to determine the qiblah, devices have now appeared, and praise be to Allah, that guide a person. These are devices numbered with specific numbers, and devices based on lines of longitude and latitude, and others, and they are varied. Among the best I have seen is a watch called: "The 'Asr Watch", which guides you to the times of prayer and to the qiblah. But it has a program that a person needs to know, so it guides you to the qiblah.