The Pole of Earth and The Point of Compass

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The Poles
Pole are defined as an axis, the polar division of the earth exists a variety, including the magnetic poles of the earth and the geographical poles of the earth:

The Poles of the Earth
The Poles of the Earth
Source : http://www.calendarinthesky.org
1. Earth's Magnetic Pole
Have you ever had a compass? the compass you have will show you the direction of North, East, South and West. This direction is a magnetic direction. The direction indicated by the compass is the result of the pulling force of the Earth's magnetic poles.
The Earth's magnetic pole is not right at the Earth's axis, the Earth's magnetic pole position is fluid, the North direction is indicated as a magnetic North that is affected by the gravitational pull force of the earth, so it has a different value every day, and every where.

2. Earth's Geography Pole
This pole is the original axis of the earth, its position remains at one point, and does not change. The polar position is at 90 degrees from the Equator (North Pole), and also -90 degrees from the Equator (South Pole). The rotation motion of the earth for approximately 24 hours rotates through this axis.
Inclination and Declination of The Compass
Inclination and Declination of The Compass
Source : http://digilander.libero.it
Compass is a tool that use the magnetic poles of the earth. Although the compass does not show the right direction, it can still be used accurately (leading to Earth's geographical poles) with some corrections, such as declination and inclination.
Magnetic declination is a horizontal shift toward the east or the west. Magnetic Inclination is a vertical shift toward the north or east direction of the compass. The value of this declination changes every day, we can check at Magnetic Declination. Meanwhile, the inclination value varies everywhere, depending on the position of the compass in the latitude. If the compass is in the southern latitudes, then the inclination of the compass will lean towards the south, and vice versa.

Points of The Compass
Points of The Compass
Source : https://en.wikipedia.org
Point of Compass is a guide to determine direction, usually used in Navigation system. There are 8 principle directions in this point of the compass system. Namely : North, Northeast, East, Southeast, South, Southwest, West, Northwest.
There are several ways to know the true winds, one of them is by using a compass as I mentioned above. Another way is to use the Sun :

1. Shortest shadow
Plug the stick to the ground in a flat position. With this method we are only looking for the shortest shadow when meridian pass/zawal (Sun at the zenith point), then we see the Sun declination value, if the declination of the Northern Sun is positive, so the shadow of the Sun points south direction, if the declination is South or the value is negative, so the shadow of the Sun leads North direction. But this method has a weakness, if the Sun is right above where we are, so there will be no shadow.

2. Shadows before and after Merpass / zawal
Plug the stick to the ground in a flat position, then make 1 to 3 circles around the stick with the stick as the center point. Observe before merpass, and observe the shadow that the end of the line touching the circle lines you have created. And make a point on the tangent. Observe after merpass, and observe the shadow that the end of the line touching the circle lines you have created. And make a point on the allusion. Connect the 2 points. The first point shows the true West direction, the second point shows of the true East direction.

3. Use the azimutal value of the Sun
This method is practically easier, but this method uses calculations. the first way is Shooting the Sun, then Counting the azimut of the Sun and then pointing towards 0 value (True North).

The above ways will be explained in another article.

The Universe is Not a God

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The feast of Eid al-Adha is a day to commemorate the Prophet Ibrahim's incident that is willing to slaughter his son, the prophet who is willing to do anything for the sake of his God. God of the universe, the God who created the heavens, the earth and the whole.
universe is not a good
Allah is the creator of this universe
In addition to the story of slaughter of Prophet Ismail by Prophet Ibrahim, there is something quite interesting from the story of the prophet Ibrahim, that is when the journey of Prophet Ibrahim looking for his God. Prophet Ibrahim traveled for days to seek his God, and he observed all the objects of the universe, from the stars, the moon and the Sun. this story is in the Qur'an Surah Al-An'am verse 75-79 :

Verse 75 :
وَكَذَلِكَ نُرِي إِبْرَاهِيمَ مَلَكُوتَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأرْضِ وَلِيَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُوقِنِينَ
"And thus We show Abraham the signs of the glory (We who are) in the heavens and the earth, and (We show them) that Ibrahim is of the believers."

Verse 76 :
فلما جن عليه الليل رأى كوكبا قال هذا ربي فلما أفل قال لا أحب الآفلين
"When the night has darkened, he sees a star (then) he says: "This is my Lord" But when the star drowned he said: "I do not like the drowning ones".

Verse 77 :
فلما رأى القمر بازغا قال هذا ربي فلما أفل قال لئن لم القوم الضالين
"Then when he saw the rising moon he said:" This is my Lord ". But when the moon sets, he says: "If my Lord has not guided me, I will be among the heretics."

Verse 78 :
فلما رأى الشمس بازغة قال هذا ربي هذا أكبر فلما أفلت قال يا قوم إني بريء مما تشركون
"Then when he saw the rising sun he said:" This is my Lord, this is the greater one ", so when the sun sets, he says:" O my people! I am detached from what ye associate (the Sun). "


Verse : 79
إني وجهت وجهي للذي فطر السماوات والأرض حنيفا وما أنا من المشركين
"Verily I have exposed myself to the Lord who created the heavens and the earth tending to true religion, and I am not of those who associate the God."

Explanation :
In the above verses, Allah ordered the Prophet Muhammad to narrate the propagation of Prophet Ibrahim who invites humans to be religious monotheism and avoids the worship of a statue that brings human to error, accompanied by strong reasons and evidence. The universe and all its contents are powerful to prove the unity of God and the wickedness of the idolaters (Musyrikiin).

Verse 75.
In this verse Allah gives an explanation again, how Allah revealed the majesty of his creation in the heavens and the earth. Allah revealed to Ibrahim the heavenly bodies of varying shapes and arrangements, all of them circulating according to each rule on a regular basis. Earth consisting of layers that contain lots of minerals and jewelry, is very useful and give many benefit to humans.
All of that is a proof of Allah's majesty, which can be understood by human, by thinking according to his word (Al-Qur'an).
Allah also explains the purpose of the introduction of Ibrahim to the beauty of his creation, in order to be made evidences in preaching to unbelieving idolaters (Musyrikiin), and become a guide for him to be someone who truly believe in the unity of Allah.

Verse 76.
After that Allah explained the process of introducing Ibrahim to God in details explanation. first experience of Prophet Ibrahim when looking at the stars. at the time the stars appear to glow and when the star is not glowing.
Ibrahim saw a brightest star. Then the question arises in his heart. "Is this my Lord? But after the star sank and disappeared from his view, there was a belief that he was unhappy with the drowning and disappearing, let alone regarding it as God.
This was the reason of Ibrahim to break the faith of his people that "all that changed was not deserved to be a God". The conclusion of Ibrahim is the conclusion of the right way of thinking that accordance with nature. And anyone who makes same observations so they will produce same conclusion.

Verse 77.
This verse is similar to the previous verse. Allah also explains the observation of the Prophet Ibrahim against the luminous celestial bodies and the greater, it is the Moon.
After the Prophet Ibrahim saw the rising Moon, an impression came to his heart to say, "Is this my Lord?" Then after the moon sets out from the horizon and disappears from his view, he gives the same statement as when he saw the stars set, to his people to know that the Moon is also not God. The second statement of the prophet Ibrahim is more appealing than the first.

Verse 78.
Allah tells his stronger insinuation. That is the observation of the Prophet Abraham to the sun, the most luminous celestial bodies in the universe,
When he sees the sun rising on the horizon, he says "What I see now is my Lord, It is greater than the Stars and the Moon." But after the sun set and disappeared from his view, he issued a warning to his people: "O my people, actually I escape from what you worship."
This insinuation is the stronger insinuation to silence his people so that they do not make any argument to deny the truth brought by Ibrahim.

Verse 79.
After some of his observations Ibrahim devoted himself to worshiping to Allah who created the heavens and the earth.
Ibrahim tended to the religion of monotheism (a religion that held that God is one) and stated that other religions were void, and he was not among the polytheists. The Universe is not a God, and the God is the only one. 

Examples for Qibla Calculation in Indonesia

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In the previous post has been explained little about the formula of the direction of qibla for the region in Indonesia. so all places in Indonesia can use that formula to serve as a determinant of Qibla direction. Visit this Link. Qibla Formula for Indonesia

In this post, we will give 3 examples of calculations, first at Istiqlal Mosque-Jakarta, Baiturrahman Mosque-Semarang and al-Akbar Mosque-Surabaya.
Coordinate of Ka'ba in Google Earth
Coordinate of Ka'ba in Google Earth
These 3 examples will be calculated by the coordinates of the Ka'ba that took from the Google Earth App. The coordinate of Ka'ba is 21˚ 25 '33,67" N and 39˚ 49 '33.27" E.

1. Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta
Coordinate of Istiqlal in Google Earth
Coordinate of Istiqlal in Google Earth

Qibla Calculation For Istiqlal Mosque :
a. Latitude: 6˚ 13' 00,97" S
b. Longitude: 106˚ 50' 11,54" E
Istiqlal Qibla Direction
Istiqlal Qibla Direction
c. λd = (λx - λx). = (106˚ 50' 11,54" -39˚ 49 '33.27") = 67˚ 0' 38,27"
d. Cotan QD = Tan φk * Cos φx / Sin λd - Sin φx / Tan λd.
Cotan QD = Tan 21˚ 25 '33,67" * Cos -6˚ 13' 00,97" / Sin 67˚ 0' 38,27" - Sin -6˚ 13' 00,97" / Tan 67˚ 0' 38,27".
QD = 64˚ 50' 23,85"
e. QA = 360 - QD
QA = 360 - 64˚ 50' 23,85"
QA = 295˚ 09' 36,15"

2. Baiturrahman Mosque, Semarang
Coordinate of Baiturrahman in Google Earth
Coordinate of Baiturrahman in Google Earth

Qibla Calculation For Baiturrahman Mosque:
a. Latitude: 6˚ 59' 00,23" S
b. Longitude: 110˚ 26' 45,67" E
Baiturrahman Qibla Direction
Baiturrahman Qibla Direction
c. λd = (λx - λx). = (110˚ 26' 45,67" -39˚ 49 '33.27") = 70˚ 37' 12,4"
d. Cotan QD = Tan φk * Cos φx / Sin λd - Sin φx / Tan λd.
Cotan QD = Tan 21˚ 25 '33,67" * Cos -6˚ 59' 00,23" / Sin 70˚ 37' 12,4" - Sin -6˚ 59' 00,23" / Tan 70˚ 37' 12,4".
QD = 65˚ 30' 9,32"
e. QA = 360 - QD
QA = 360 - 65˚ 30' 9,32"
QA = 294˚ 29' 50,67"

3. al-Akbar Mosque, Surabaya
Coordinate al-Akbar Mosque from Google Earth
Coordinate al-Akbar Mosque from Google Earth

Qibla Calculation For al-Akbar Mosque :
a. Latitude: 7˚ 20' 10,95" S
b. Longitude: 112˚ 42' 54,29" E
Al-Akbar Qibla Direction
Al-Akbar Qibla Direction
c. λd = (λx - λx). = (112˚ 42' 54,29" -39˚ 49 '33.27") = 72˚ 53' 21,02"
d. Cotan QD = Tan φk * Cos φx / Sin λd - Sin φx / Tan λd.
Cotan QD = Tan 21˚ 25 '33,67" * Cos -7˚ 20' 10,95" / Sin 72˚ 53' 21,02" - Sin -7˚ 20' 10,95" / Tan 72˚ 53' 21,02".
QD = 65˚ 56' 13,92"
e. QA = 360 - QD
QA = 360 - 65˚ 56' 13,92"
QA = 294˚ 03' 46,08"

From the 3 examples above can be concluded that true the direction of the Indonesia is North West, its value is about 294 degrees.
Additional added :
- Remember! that the value of North latitude and East longitude is positive and the value of South latitude and West longitude is negative. Visit Spherical Earth System.
- In the trigonometry formula above use Cotangen formula, if you using a calculator or excel program can use :
For Excel Atan (1/(Tan φk *......)) or Atan((Tan φk *.......)^-1)
For the Scientific calculator change "Atan" with "Shiftan".

Calculation of Qibla Direction for Indonesian Places

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Indonesian Map's
Indonesian Map's
Indonesia is located on the east of the Ka'ba, and is in the south of the Ka'ba, so in logical direction, the direction of the qibla in Indonesia leads to the North West. there are some data that must be searched first to calculate the direction of qibla, that is:

1. Latitude of Ka'ba (φk)
2. Longitude of Ka'ba (λx)
3. Latitude Place (φx)
4. Longitude Place (λx)

For Latitude and Longitude data Ka'ba is usually constant / fixed, but some people vary in its determination, one of the Ka'ba coordinate value ​​used is 21˚ 25 ' 21,01" N and 39˚ 49' 34,33" E. For coordinate data for the place can be searched with various tools, such as GPS. visit this link. Determine Coordinate with GPS.

This calculation uses the assumption that the Earth is a sphere, so this way using the Spherical Algorithm theory. The steps must be taken as follows:

1. Finding the longitude difference (λd) with the formula : λd = (λx - λx).
2. Finding the qibla direction angle (QD) with the formula: Cotan QD = Tan φk * Cos φx / Sin λd - Sin φx / Tan λd.
3. Then finding qibla azimuth value (QA) with the formula: QA = 360 - QD

Average Qibla Azimuth of Indonesia
Average Qibla Azimuth of Indonesia
The direction of the Qiblah that we count, measured from the True North clockwise to the value of the azimuth angle. For the example calculations will be discussed at the next session.

The Change of Qibla Direction 2

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In the previous article, has been described how the potential for changes qibla direction at someplace that caused by the earthquake. Visit this Link! The Change of Qibla Direction.

Now, in this article we will describe one example of the shift of coordinates that caused by the earthquake, and the changing direction of qibla. How big is it? And how big is the change?

Sample of Qibla Direction Change
Simulation of The Change of Qibla Direction
One of the mosques we have sampled is the Baiturrahim mosque in Ule Lheue, Aceh, Indonesia. One of the areas that was hit by the Tsunami on December 26, 2004 with a strength 9.3 Mw. The tsunami was the result of an earthquake in the Indian Ocean, which took victims from six countries : Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Maldives and Somalia.

Tsunami
Simulation of Tsunami 2004 in Indian Ocean
Source : Wikipedia.com
Please see some image below, these images we got from Google satellite imagery in Google Earth App, in a few different times.

The Shift of The Baiturrahim Mosque
Image 1 : The Capture of Baiturrahim 2004
Image 1: Satellite images taken on June 23, 2004, before the earthquake occured. in this figure there is the coordinate value of the roof of the Baiturrahim Mosque is 5˚ 33 '21.4 "N and 95˚ 17' 1.7" E.


The Shift of The Baiturrahim Mosque
Image 2 : The Capture of Baiturrahim 2005

Image 2 : Satellite images on January 28, 2005, images taken several months after the earthquake. the coordinates shifted to 5˚ 33 '20.67 "N and 95˚ 17' 1.61" E. coordinates shifted to the South West.

The Shift of TheMosque
Image 3 : The Capture of Baiturrahim 2009

Image 3: Satellite image on June 16, 2009, image taken 4 years after the earthquake. The coordinates again shifted towards the North East, the coordinates are 5˚ 33 '20.97 "N and 95˚ 17' 2.22" E

The Shift of TheMosque
Image 4 : The Capture of Baiturrahim 2010

Image 4: Satellite images on July 8, 2010, shifting South East to 5˚ 33 '20.9 "N and 95˚ 17' 2.39" E

The Shift of TheMosque
Image 5 : The Capture of Baiturrahim 2017
Image 5 : The last image on January 29, 2017, shifting North East to 5˚ 33 '20.95 "N and 95˚ 17' 2.54" E
The Shift of The Mosque Latitude
Latitude Shift's
The Shift of The Mosque Longitude
Longitude Shift's
Of the drawings, the greatest shift occurred between June 23, 2004 and January 28, 2005. where between the dates there was a very large earthquake. The latitude shifts by 0.73 " to the South and longitude shifts by 0.09" to the West.

There was also a substantial shift, between January 28, 2005 and June 16, 2009, after I searched further, there was also some earthquake that occurred between that date, at Nias, Indonesia in 2005 and at West Sumatra, Indonesia in 2007. The latitude shift by 0.3 " to the North and longitude shifts by 0.61" to the East.

For the other date the shift is not too large, is between 0.05 "- 0.17", because there is no earthquake, the shift according to our, occurs caused by the shift of the earth's plate, but not too large, so it didn't cause an earthquake.

As for the qibla shift, I have calculated the direction of the qibla from some conditions with spherical algorithms calculation, can be seen from the following table:
The Shift of The Mosque qibla
Qibla Direction Shift's
The shifting direction of the qiblah that happened was very small, and almost no effect, less than 0.5". The 0.5" impact was caused by the tsunami that occurred on December 26, 2004. Then the impact of the Nias and West Sumatra earthquakes was less than 0.3", while in other condition, the qibla direction shifted less than 0.2" .

A shift in the direction of qibla is very possible, although the shift is very small, but it should be checked regularly, because if the slight shift is repeated several times it will produce a big shift.

Visit this link for the previous discussion. The Change of Qibla Direction 1

Prayer Times Marker

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Source : http://www.algonaefree.org
One of the valid conditions of prayer/salat is in time. The times of prayer have been arranged in the Qur'an and Hadith, namely in Surat al-Isra ': 78:

أقم الصلاة لدلوك الشمس إلى غسق الليل وقرءان الفجر إن قرءان الفجر كان مشهودا

Meaning:
Establish prayer from after the sun slip until dark of night and time of the Qur'anal Fajri. The Qur'anal Fajri is actually witnessed (Surat al-Isra`: 78)

According to the commentators, in this verse is mentioned the time of prayer that is after the sun slipped, the prayers of Dhuhur and Asr. While the dark night is the prayer of Maghrib and Isha` and Qur`anal Fajri is the prayer of Shubuh .

Whereas if you want to more specifically know the theorem about the times of prayer, we can refer to the hadith of Rasululah that saheeh and qath`i. Among these are the following hadith, which means:

From Jabir bin Abdullah ra. That the Prophet was approached by Gabriel and said to him, "Rise up and do the prayer." So he did the Dhuhur prayer when the sun slipped. Then as Asr approaches and Gabriel says, "Wake up and do the prayer." So he did the Asr prayer when the length of the shadow of all things equal to the length of the object. Then the time of Maghrib approaches and Gabriel says, "Wake up and do the prayer." So he performed the Maghrib prayer when the sun sets. Then Isha time comes and Gabriel says, "Wake up and do the prayer." Then he SAW perform the Isha' prayer when syafaq (red clouds) disappears. Then when Shubuh comes and Gabriel says, "Wake up and do the prayer." So he did the Shubuh prayer when dawn broke. (Ahmad, Nasai and Tirmizy.)

1. Fajr Prayer Time (Shubuh)

Starting from the appearance of "Fajr Shadiq/True Dawn" until the rising of the sun. The dawn in Arabic is not the sun. So when mentioned dawn, it is not sunrise. Dawn is a rather bright white light that spreads on the eastern horizon that comes just before sunrise.

There are two kinds of dawn, namely "Fajr Kazib/ False Dawn" and "Fajar Shadiq/ True Dawn". "Fajr Kazib" is the dawn that "lying" as the name implies. That is, in the early hours of the morning, there is a light that extends and leads up in the middle of the sky. Shaped like a wolf's tail, then the sky becomes dark again. That is "Fajr Kazib".

While the second dawn is "Fajr Shadiq", which is the dawn of a really dawn which is a rather bright white light that spreads on the eastern horizon that appears shortly before sunrise. This dawn marks the entry of the Shubuh time.

Shubuh Time
Simulation of Shubuh Time
While the end of the Shubuh time is the rising of the Sun.

In the science of astronomy, the position of the Sun is usually denoted in an altitude value. For the beginning of dawn itself varies, some are wearing a sun-height value of -20 degrees to -15 degrees below the horizon.

Shubuh Time
Difference of Shubuh Height Value

2. Dhuhur Prayer Time

Starting from the sun is just above the head but has started to slightly leaning towards the west. The term often used is the slipping of the sun. As free translation of the word "Zawalus Syamsi". But this term is often confusing because if it says that the "sun is slipping", some people will wrinkle his forehead, "What is the slipping of the sun?".

"Zawalus Syamsi" is the time at which the position of the sun is above our heads, but a little has begun to move westward. So not right above the head. Or in Arabic terms also known as Istiwa'.

Shubuh Time
Simulation of Dhuhur Time
The end of the prayer time of Dhuhur is when entering the time of the Asr prayer.

The value of the sun's height at the time of entry Dhuhur prayer is approaching 90 degrees.

3. Asr Prayer Time

There are some differences in starting this Asr prayer :

First opinion, Asr prayer begins when the shadow of an object is equal to the height of the object plus the shadow of the object when time Dhuhur. The value of the sun's height at this position is less than 45 degrees.

Second opinion, Asr prayer starts when the shadow of an object is equal to 2x height of the object plus the shadow of the object when time Dhuhur. The value of the sun's height at this position is about 26 degrees 34 minutes

Asr Time
Simulation of Asr Time
The third opinion of Asr prayer is Wustha prayer is the prayer performed in the middle between Dhuhr and Maghrib prayer. The value of the sun's height at this position is more or equal to 45 degrees

But the most famous opinion is the first opinion.

4. Maghrib Prayer Time

Starting from the setting of the sun and this has become the ijma` (agreement) of the scholars. That is since the loss of all the solar spheres in the swallow of the earth. And ended up entering the time Isha'.

Maghrib Time
Simulation of Maghrib Time
The value of the sun's height at the time of Maghrib prayer is approximately -1 degrees.

5. Isha' Prayer Time

Isha' prayer begins when the emergence of red clouds in the sky.
The value of the height of the sun is also different, there is a opinion that the height of the Sun during Isha' is -18 to -15 degrees below horizon.

Isha' Time
Simulation of Shubuh Time
And the end of the Isha' prayer is when entering the time of Shubuh prayer.

Isha' Time
Difference of Isha Height Value

Determine The Direction of Qibla with Google Earth

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What's interesting about Google Earth? Of course a lot. For the layman, Google Earth is often used to look at photos of his house, or hometown through space. Of course it's nice to see his hometown clearly visible through Google Earth. Everyone in the world will be able to see it. But not the least disappointed, his hometown was not visible at all, whether it is covered by cloud or satellite has not updated the image.

But different from the astronomers. Google Earth is also usually used by them. The ability of Google Earth to identify the surface of the Earth and define it with the value of latitude and longitude make Google Earth useful as a pointer coordinate of a place and determining the direction of Qibla in some places.

How to find the coordinates and direction of Qibla?, Let's see the following explanation! Previously downloaded Google Earth software first! visit this link! Download.

Looking for coordinates somewhere.
1. Go to Google Earth
2. Search the city name in the search field
3. Move the pointer or mouse to where to look for the coordinates
4. See the coordinate values ​​at the bottom of the screen

Examples of searching for the coordinates of Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta, Indonesia and Ka'ba, Mecca, Saudi Arabia:

coordinate istiqlal in google earth
Coordinate of Istiqlal, Jakarta, Indonesia

coordinate ka'ba in google earth
Coordinate of Ka'ba, Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Looking for a Qibla direction somewhere
1. Open Google Earth
2. Find the place to search for the direction of the Qibla, also look for the Ka'ba.
3. Move to place area (place to search direction of Qibla)
4. Press the "ruler" button
determine qibla direction with google earth

5. Click on the area of ​​the mosque and drag the line to the ka'ba
determine qibla direction with google earth

determine qibla direction with google earth

6. Move to the place area again
determine qibla direction with google earth

7. see the results, we can also see the value of the azimuth Qibla in the column.

Good luck!

Rules facing to The Qiblah

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kakbah the qibla of moslem
Source : Google Earth Software

Understanding of the direction of Qiblah is very simple, because the problem of the direction of Qibla is only a directional problem, is the direction of the Ka'ba which is in Mecca and each place must have different direction in facing Qibla.

In simple terms it can be seen that the area in the South Kabah facing to the North, the area located in the North Kabah facing to the South, the area in the East Kabah facing to the West, the area in the West Kabah facing East,

If further clarified then the area located in the North East Kabah facing to the South West, the area located in the South East of the Kabah facing to the North West, the area located in the South West Kabah facing the North East and the area located in the North West Kabah facing South East.

It can be a bit complicated if we further see that the earth is round, then there must be a special calculation for it, but if in a state of urgency can use the logic above.

The meaning of Qiblah in language is derived from the word قبل- يقبل - قبلة, which means facing, whereas in term, the islamic astronomers define with the Direction closest to the Ka'ba, The direction in which Muslims confront their faces during the prayer.

So why should we face qibla ???

The scientist of the fiqh agree that facing the Qiblah in the prayer is a requirement of the validity of the prayer, as the syar'I proposition exists:

Allah has commanded this three times, namely in Al-Baqarah: 144,149 and 150:
قد نرى تقلب وجهك في السماء فلنولينك قبلة ترضاها فول وجهك شطر المسجد الحرام وحيث ما كنتم فولوا وجوهكم شطره وإن الذين أوتوا الكتاب ليعلمون أنه الحق من ربهم وما الله بغافل عما يعملون

and in the hadith :
 قال أبو هريرة رضي الله عنه: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: اذا قمت الي الصلاة فاسبغ الوضوء ثم استقبل القبلة وكبر. رواه   البخارى ومسلم

For people around the holy mosque overlooking the Ka'ba is not a problem because they easily do that. Then what about the people who are far away with the Grand Mosque even outside the city of Mecca. Are we still required to face the true Ka'ba? Or just with an estimate only?

The opinion of the scholars:

Imam As Syafi'i & Shi'a Imamiyah:
Obligatory to the Ka'ba itself, both for the near and far.
If you can know the direction of the Ka'ba itself (exact), then it must face in that direction. If not, then just with an estimate only. (az-Zuhaily, Tafsir Al-Munir, p. 234)

Imam Hambali, Maliki, Hanafi & some scholars of Shi'a Imamiyah:
The direction of qibla is the direction in which the Ka'ba is located, not the Ka'ba itself. (As Suyuthiy, Al Asybah Wa An Nazair, p. 116)

The clerical agreement
All scholars agree that the Ka'ba is a qibla for those who are close and can see it. But they differ on the qibla for the distant and can not see it. (as-Sya'rani, Al-Miizaan Al-Kubra p. 116)

Based on the strongness of prejudice, there are 3 methods in determining the direction of Qibla
1. Overlooking Qibla Sure
A person who is inside the Grand Mosque (Masjidil Haram) and sees the Ka'ba directly, must face himself to Qibla with confidence. This is also referred to as "Ain al-Ka'ba".

2. Overlooking Qibla Estimates
Someone who is outside the Grand Mosque so that they can not see the Ka'ba building, they are obliged to face the Grand Mosque as the intent of facing Qibla in a dzan or approximation is called "Jihat al-Ka'ba"

3. Facing Qibla with Ijtihad
Ijtihad can be used to determine the direction of Qibla from a place far from the Holy Mosque, such as someone outside the holy land of Mecca or even outside Saudi Arabia, the method used is "Jihat al-Qiblah"

Why should a mathematical approach in determining the direction of Qibla?
As long as there is a more accurate way why choose another less accurate way, In a qaidah ushul fiqh
لا عبرة بالظن البين خطؤه
"The theory or practice that is based on the zan (allegation) that is clearly wrong is not considered"

Accurate Times

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The Accurate Times application is a well-known application amongst the astronomers, this software is made by Mohammad Syawkat Audah. In this application there are several calculation programs, such as the program of Salat Time, Moon and Moon Setting program, Moon Phase, Hilal Visibility, Sun Ephemeris program, Hijriah-Masehi (Lunar-Sun) Calendar, Qibla Direction and also Solar and Moon position guidance program for telescope operation.

This application was originally a prayer time application adopted by the Jordanian Ministry of Religious Affairs for the early determination of the prayer time in Jordan, but at a later stage it developed to the point of calculating the conversion of the Hijriah-Mashi-Hijri date and the determination of the beginning of the continuing month on the visibility of the new moon .

The front view of the Accurate Times application

One of these in-app programs that reflects his thoughts is the Crescent Visibility or Visibility Hilal program the author has described in the previous chapter.

Crescent Visibility program display in the Accurate Times application

In this program provided several options for the determination of criteria:
- Waxing / Waning Crescent
This option is used to select the object we will look for visibility, whether young moon or old moon.
- Calculations
This option is used to select the basic reference of calculation, whether the calculation based on the geosentric point that will produce the essential moon, or from the surface of the earth (Toposentric) that will produce the hilal mar'i.
- Day of Calculations
This option is used to determine the state of visibility, at day of intent, 1 day or 2 days after.
- Time of Calculations
This option is used to select the visibility reference time, at sunset, when the Moon is set, or when the Best time, which is one of Mohammad Odeh's formulas also that the author has described in the previous discussion.

Map of Hilal Accurate Times Visibility

The above picture is the moon visibility map of the Beginning Moon of Shawwal 1438 in the Accurate Times application with youthful hilal, topocentric hilal, hilal on the day of ijtimak and hilal at best time.

Visit this link to download it. Download

Capture the Phenomenon of Partial Lunar Eclipse 7-8 August 2017

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Visualitation of Partial Lunar Eclipse 7-8 August 2017
Source : MrEclipse.com
Date 7-8 August 2017 is a special date where on that date there will be a rare phenomenon, the phenomenon of partial lunar eclipse. The phenomenon would be very interesting if we managed to record and immortalize it.

But capturing images from the lunar eclipse is not an easy thing, sometimes a photographer difficult to take pictures, due to the lunar eclipse conditions that enter the full phase, the moonlight will be brighter.

At the time of the full moon, the earth is between the Moon and the Sun. The sunlight is reflected by the Moon towards us, so there is no Earth's shadow on the Moon that is used to adjust the contrast. Unlike at the time of the crescent moon, Crescent moon can be recorded with longer exposure or darker background to show the best light, although it is sometimes difficult to do.

So how to capture a lunar eclipse that right? We have a few ways and tricks for that.

1. Take pictures with twilight mode. If your camera does not have manual controls, choose the twilight shooting mode. With this mode, a very bright moonlight will be photographed with a fairly short exposure. If there is no twilight mode then use the automatic mode, and use the flash. The flash will shorten the exposure time so the moon does not experience overexposure. For close-up wear the highest lens enlargement setting.

2. Manual mode. Set ISO to a low value of 80 or 100 with a 1/80 or 1/100 exposure and f / 6.6 aparture.

3. Adjust the focus. If your camera has "Infinity" mode then it is great. If not there, autofocus is also good.

4. Use a support such as a tripod or a strong support. Enable the image stabilizer in the lens. Remember, the slightest movement has made the image obscure. When using a DSLR, you need a telephoto lens (minimum 300mm). If there is no tripod set ISO to 400 or more to get a shorter exposure without making the image too dark. High ISO values ​​are high noise, so do not use ISO too high.

5. Do not limit snapshots. With a large memory card capacity, you can take multiple shots on an ongoing basis. This is to get the best results, especially with the telephoto lens DSLR camera. Taking pictures with different exposure lengths increases the chances of getting the best photos. When the moon is near full, start with a low ISO, usually 100 with f / 6.6 aperture, and a 1/100 second exposure length. Periodically increase the exposure until the moon image becomes dark, it can take the exposure value 1/60, 1/50, 140, so on regularly.

6. Choose an interesting background. Fortunately the moon moves slowly so make sure enough time to get the background in the form of buildings, trees, or other objects to support the image of the moon in the right position.

7. Edit photos with software. Start by cutting a lot of black background and then adjust the brightness and contrast to get the desired result. We usually choose to reduce saturation because in reality the moon was relatively colorless.

Good luck!.

Google Qibla Finder

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One of the requirements of a valid prayer is facing the Qibla, which is a Ka'ba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

To determine the direction of qibla there are many ways, ranging from traditional to modern. Some use a very traditional tool like a stick, some use simple tools but still have a fairly high accuracy such as Mizwala and Istiwaaini, some also use modern tools as well as Teodholite and Total Station. Use of some of these ways may still cause difficulties if who will determine is a beginner.

Nowadays has come a very useful technology for all human activity, that is smartphone. These benefits also apply to the determination of Qibla direction. Lots of users or developers who already take advantage of this technology, a lot of software / program direction of the Qibla is made for smartphones, let alone android smartphone. There are currently around 500 to 600 Qibla direction apps in the playstore, but if we are going to download the app it will be a bit complicated and confused, especially as the accuracy of the apps itself is untested.

But Google has responded to that, Google has presented a web-based qibla direction program that is highly compatible with smartphones especially android and has a very nice interface. The program is called Google Qibla Finder.

To use it we just need to open the browser, any browser through our smarphone, then slide to the site Google Qibla Finder then we will be taken to the Google Qibla Finder page.


Then please note that the GPS position must be in a state of luminous, so that our android can read the coordinates of where we are. In the next step we will choose the interface language we want, then press the Let's Go!


Then Google Qibla Finder will directly calculate, measure the direction of Qibla and apply it to a map which is the location where we are.


If we flip smartphone towards the front, then the interface will turn into a camera and the line appears which is the direction of our place qibla. We can directly mark the direction of Qiblah on our floor through the line that is in our smartphone camera.

Very practical without having to calculate and bring a tool to measure the direction of Qibla. Can we use wherever we are.

Note: There are some things to watch out for, smarphone must support multiple sensors, such as gps, compass and motion sensors, other than that the camera conditions must also be in normal. For the last step I can not exemplify because my camera is in error.

Good luck!

Spherical Earth Coordinate System

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Coordinate is a number used to denote a point or a value. Have you ever heard of the term Cartesian Coordinates? A coordinate indicated by the x-axis and the y-axis. With this cartesian coordinate we can see that the area above the x-axis is positive, and the area below the x-axis is negative. While the area to the right of the y-axis is positive and the area to the left of the y-axis is negative.


The spherical coordinate system is also like cartesian coordinates, but the plane in cartesian coordinates is replaced by the spherical. The x-axis in the coordinate of the globe that is the equator (the line that divides the earth into two parts, north and south), and the y-axis in the form of Greenwich line (line connecting the two poles, the north pole and the south pole. This line are in Greenwich London Britaria Kingdom).

Spherical coordinates of the earth consists of two elements namely latitude and longitude. Latitude is an arc or line parallel to the center line of the earth / equator line. The value of the latitude is calculated from the equator line as the 0 point, the positive value for the north and the negative for the south.


Longitude is an arc or line connecting two poles. The value of longitude is calculated from Greenwich as 0 point, the east area of Greenwich is positive and the west area of Greenwich is negative.


Latitude is denoted by phi (φ), the value of latitude ranges from 0 degrees to +90 degrees and 0 degrees to -90 degrees. Longitude is represented by lambda (λ). The values ​​of longitude range from 0 degrees to +179.99 degrees and 0 degrees to -179.99 degrees. For longitude 180 can be positive and negative.


Suppose we will define the position Ka'ba in the form of coordinates (we can get help through the application Google Map / Google Earth). Then the value of Ka'ba coordinate is worth + 21˚ 25 '21,04 "and + 39˚ 49' 34,33" because the position of the Ka'ba is in north latitude and east longitude, it can also be written 21˚ 25 '21,04 " N (North) and 39˚ 49' 34.33 " E (East).