May 28 & July 16: the dates indicating the exact Qiblah direction

Have you ever wondered how can some old Mosques face the exact direction of Qiblah? Our ancestors had acute knowledge of the environment in which they were living in, one of them was to make use of the sun as it passes on top of Mekkah during 2 specific days of the year, where it is right above the Kaaba.

The following entry will try to simplify the method of determining the exact Qiblah direction using the sun during these specific days. 

Conclusion:

Using the sun on the specific dates mentioned above is providing accurate Qiblah direction, but unfortunately for the  Muslims who live in most of North America, South America, Australia and Antarctica , it will not be helpful.

There are many other methods that could be used instead, which might be the subject of another entry in the future. One of these methods is to use the antipodes of the Kaaba, i.e. use the days when the sun passes exactly under the Kaaba on the other side of the globe. This too occurs twice in each year on 12 or 13 January at 21:29 UTC [0:29 Saudi local time] and on 28 November at 21:09 UTC [0:09 Saudi local time]. In the latter case the Qiblah can be determined by simply observing the compass direction of one’s shadow at the right hour.

Up to then, I still advise my fellow brothers and sisters in Islam living in  North America, South America, Australia and Antarctica to follow the consensus among the scholars for their respective Qiblah direction and to always stick with the group.

I would like to end this entry by a question to the readers here: have you ever noticed where is the exact opposite position of the Kaabah on the other side of the globe?...