Qibla

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/qibla

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the geographic coordinates?Used in precise Qibla calculations via spherical trigonometry
2. What is the astronomical verification?Shadow casting during solar zenith in Mecca (May 27-28, July 15-16)
3. Why do Muslims pray toward the Kaaba instead of Jerusalem?The Quran says to face the Kaaba, and this change shows how guidance can evolve. It makes Mecca the spiritual heart of Islam.
4. How do people find the Qibla direction?Astronomers use math and maps, and now we can use apps or tables. A simple way is to watch a shadow when the sun is directly over Mecca.

Tawhid: The Islamic concept of the absolute oneness of God.
Ummah: The global community of Muslims, bound by faith.
Spherical Trigonometry: A branch of mathematics dealing with triangles on the surface of a sphere.