A scholarly explanation of the ruling on praying behind an Imām when the mosque’s Qiblah direction is slightly inaccurate, based on authentic prophetic guidance.
Questioner: I am currently abroad. I used an application to determine the direction of the Qiblah and discovered that the direction of the Qiblah in the mosque appears to be off by approximately fifteen to twenty degrees. I raised this issue with the mosque administration. At present, I pray following the Imām. What is the ruling?
Shaykh Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān al-Fawzān: Do not be harsh. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Whatever lies between the east and the west is Qiblah.” A slight deviation does not cause harm, so long as the Kaʿbah is not behind you nor to your side.
References
Ṣāliḥ b. Fawzān b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Fawzān (b. 1354 AH), Sharḥ Fatḥ al-Majīd li-Sharḥ Kitāb al-Tawḥīd, recorded lesson no. 64, vol. 1, timestamp 10:16, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
August 20, 2021
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