Where is the Qibla?

This is a tricky one. How do you determine what way to pray when you are away from home (or move into a new home) and aren't in a Masjid or Musullah? There are a few different methods, and each has its strengths and weaknesses:

GPS Method

This is the easiest of the three methods, but also the most expensive. Any GPS receiver won't do, it must be a GPS receiver that can point from where you are toward another geographic spot in the world. Many camping/backpacking, orienteering, geocaching, fishing, hunting, etc. GPS models will have this ability. You enter the latitude and longitude of Mecca and it points the way. Easy peasy, but not so cheap.

Compass Method

This method is relatively cheap since a compass can cost just $10 or $15 but unlike the GPS method requires some know how and some calculations. First you will need to know what direction Mecca is (from my house this would be 56.5° from north) this already shows our first difficulty: using an accurate compass. Mine is marked by every other degree meaning that it can tell me 54°, 56°, 58° but certainly not to the 1/2°. This can make a big difference over a vast distance (like that to Mecca) but any method used can't be assured to be 100% correct without getting a professional surveyor to do it for you. The next issue with this method is that the calculations provide you the direction toward Mecca using the north pole. And your compass uses the "magnetic north pole" to tell you the direction. And, here's the tricky part, they aren't the same place. Why aren't they the same place? The short answer is that the magnetic north pole is around Greenland. The long answer is here. How can you adjust for this difference? Via more calculations. The National Geophysics Data Center is kind enough to calculate this for me, and determine the difference between my calculation and reality is -10.67°or -10.5° if I round it. Great so now what do I do with that number? The long answer is here and covers each situation of what kind of compass you have and what you are trying to do with it. In the case of finding the Qibla the answer is I need to subtract the number I recived from the calculation or: 56.5° - -10.5° = 67° from north (since subtracting a negative is the same as adding...).

Sun Method

This method has the advantage of being essenntially free, and very accurate, but has the disadvantage of only working a couple times a day, and requires visibility of the sun. It's a great method to use when you move to a new house to ensure that your prayers are dead on, but when traveling it isn't so handy. IslamicFinder.org will provide the details, for example from my house. They calculate when a sundial (or your) shadow will point directly toward Mecca (or directly away or at a 90° angle). At that time you view the shadow of a sundial (or flagpole, etc. etc.) and note the direction and then try to duplicate that inside your house.

Whichever method you pick, it may require some planning in advance. Either purchasing and carying the GPS receiver, having the compass calculations at hand, or the URLs required to get the numbers you need at hand, or programs installed on your portable technology that will arrive at the numbers required, or the sun calculations at hand. Of course now that I've posted this with links, I guess you can just remember muslimtogo.blogspot.com and visit a nearby Internet Cafe wherever you go...

Update: Great tip from reader Ibrahim Shafi is the website Qibla Locator. A great mash-up using google maps so you can zoom right into the building you are in and use landmarks or your knowledge of the facility to site your qibla very accurately. Kudos to ibn Mas'ud, great job.