Astronomers say the sun will pass directly over the top of the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia at 12:18 p.m. local time — coinciding with the call to Friday prayers at the mosque — and when it does, the cube-shaped structure, draped in black silk at the center of the world’s most sacred Muslim site, will cast no shadow.
Islam’s holiest shrine for a few moments on Friday, will also be the easiest to find.
Muslims across the world must face the direction — known as the “Qibla” — of the Kaaba when praying. Friday’s alignment of the sun over the shrine, which happens twice a year, means the faithful can find the Qibla simply by facing the sun.
“This celestial phenomenon will enable people all over the Earth who can see the sun at that moment to determine the direction of the Qibla through the simplest and easiest ways,” Mulhim bin Mohammed Al Hindi, an astronomy researcher at King Abdulaziz University in Riyadh, told Saudi news agency SPA. “A man facing the sun (at that moment) will be heading to the Qibla with an accuracy of 100%.”
Those living near the Kaaba, however, will find it more difficult than the rest of the world to locate the direction the sun is traveling, and will have to rely on an ancient method to locate the sun. “They can determine the Qibla through the shadows of objects,” Al Hindi said. “If a pen is situated vertically, the Qibla’s direction will be the exact opposite to the pen’s shadow.”
Using shadows to determine the Qibla dates back to the 12th century, according to Al Hindi.
Courtesy: CNN
You can determine exact direction of Qibla at 12.18 hrs on Friday.Place a stick in the ground and the direction of its shade points to Qibla Kaaba.
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