Qibla-finding by stars, winds, mountains and rivers
أدلة القبلة: النجوم والرياح والجبال والأنهار
Al-Umari devotes the fourth gate of Masalik al-Absar to the qibla and its proofs: determination by stars, then winds, then mountains, then rivers — the field methods by which the lands' people fixed the Kaaba's bearing before precision astronomy 1.
At a glance
- Era
- The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks
- Region
- Levant & Iraq
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
Overview
Ibn Fadl Allah al-Umari devoted a fourth chapter of his Masalik al-absar to the qibla and the signs by which it is known. 1
Methods of orientation
Al-Umari arranges the determination of the direction of the Ka'ba by four signs: the stars, then the winds, then the mountains, then the rivers. He describes them as the methods relied on by the people of the cities before precise astronomical constructions. 1
The details of each sign are not recorded here and would need a further source.
People and things also explored
The seven climates· The earth's sphericity· The moon's night-litany· The planets' reign and the world's cycles· Abu al-Wafa' al-Buzjani, Muhammad ibn Muhammad· Al-Abhari, Athir al-Din al-Mufaddal ibn Umar· Al-Badi' al-Astarlabi· al-Balkhi Abu Ma'shar Ja'far ibn Muhammad
Sources
- Masalik al-absar fi mamalik al-amsar — al-Umari (1924 printing), pp. 11, 128-129
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Qibla-finding by stars, winds, mountains and rivers”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/adillat-al-qibla/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.