The sun’s almost perfectly alignment with the Holy Kaaba in Makkah happens once every 33 years, according to astronomers. (SPA photo)

Arab News

May 29, 2026

• Solar zenith confirms Qibla direction for 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide
• Eid Al-Adha alignment last seen this way 33 years ago, won’t recur until 2059

MAKKAH: The sky over Makkah witnessed a rare and precise astronomical phenomenon on Thursday at 12:18 PM local time, as the sun aligned almost perfectly directly above the Holy Kaaba, according to SPA.

The event, which coincided exactly with the Dhuhr (midday) prayer call, offered a flawless natural opportunity to determine and verify the global direction of the Qibla (the direction Muslims face during prayer).

Majed Abu Zahra, director of the Jeddah Astronomy Society, noted that the sun reached the closest point to complete alignment directly above the Kaaba at an altitude of 89.94 degrees, with a difference of only about 0.06 degrees (about 3.6 arcminutes) from perfect alignment, providing a direct opportunity to verify the accuracy of the Qibla direction by using the position of the sun and the shadows cast by vertical objects.

Because the sun’s rays hit the ground perpendicularly, the Holy Kaaba and all vertical objects in Makkah completely lost their shadows at that exact minute.

He added that the phenomenon occurs twice annually as a result of the sun’s apparent movement between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The phenomenon holds scientific and educational significance due to its connection with astronomical calculations and the explanation of concepts related to Earth’s movement and celestial coordinates, in addition to its historical use in correcting the directions of some mosques.

Because Makkah lies at approximately 21.4 degrees North latitude, the sun passes directly over its celestial coordinates twice a year — once during its northward journey in late May, and again on its southward return in mid-July.

Key technical data illustrating Abu Zahra’s explanation were carried in a detailed infographic posted by the Jeddah Astronomy Society on social media . The infographic contrasted Thursday’s peak with the previous day, Wednesday, May 27,  which also produced a close alignment, with the sun reaching 89.89 degrees (a difference of 6.6 arcminutes).

Thursday’s reading, however, marks the true astronomical peak for this cycle and the most precise moment of the year for shadow-based Qibla verification.

Beyond its deep spiritual resonance, the event carries significant scientific weight, demonstrating planetary rotation and celestial mechanics in real time. Historically, this “shadowless” technique was pioneered by medieval Islamic scholars to calibrate the alignment of distant mosques across continents, according to historians.

Adding to the uniqueness of this year’s event, the solar alignment coincided precisely with the second day of Eid al-Adha. Because the Islamic calendar is lunar and shifts backward by roughly 10 to 11 days each year against the solar calendar, a perfect intersection where this solar zenith lands exactly during the peak days of the Hajj and Eid season occurs only once every 33 years.

While the intense overhead positioning of the sun often prompts public speculation regarding extreme regional heat, Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Meteorology (NCM) clarified that such alignments do not directly cause unprecedented heatwaves.

The NCM emphasized that while solar radiation is intensely direct during the zenith, localized daily temperatures remain governed by a broader matrix of climate drivers, including humidity, air mass movements, and wind speeds.

source https://www.arabnews.com/node/2645289/saudi-arabia