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Fatwa CenterRelation between sun and Qiblah
Question
Respected scholars, assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu. I want to know whether there is any connection between the sun and the direction of the Qiblah. Some say that we have to keep our backs towards the sun, and some say that we should keep our face towards the sun to face the Qiblah while unable to find the right direction of it. Which is the correct view? May Allaah reward you.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
It is possible to use the sun to infer the direction of the Qiblah. Az-Zaad reads, “When traveling, it (the direction of the Qiblah) is inferred from the polar star, the sun and the moon...”
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen 
said, “His saying, 'The sun and the moon' is the fourth thing that is referred to in finding the direction of the Qiblah because the sun and the moon both rise from the east and set in the west; so if you are west of the Ka’bah, then the Qiblah is east; if you are east of the Ka’bah, then the Qiblah is west; if you are north of the Ka’bah, then the Qiblah is south; and if you are south of the Ka’bah, then the Qiblah is north…”
Therefore, it becomes clear to you that it is not correct to say that one should keep his back to the sun or face it. Even if he is east of Makkah, for example, and we say that he should face the direction of sunset, then it would not be correct to say that he keeps his back to the sun or faces it because if he keeps his back to the sun at the time of sunset (while east of Makkah), then he would be mistaken in regard to the direction of Qiblah, and if he faces the sun at the time of sunrise (while east of Makkah), then he would also be mistaken about the direction of the Qiblah, so what should be taken into account is the direction of the east and the west and not the sun itself.
Allaah knows best.
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