Qibla Direction of the Great Mosque of Baiturrahim Using the Easy Qiblah Method: A Historical Perspective on King Botutihe

Zulfiah; F. Ramadani

Authors

Zulfiah Faculty of Sharia Institut Agama Islam Negeri Sultan Amai Gorontalo, Indonesia
F. Ramadani University of Malaya, Radio Cosmology Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Keywords:

Easy Qiblah application, Great Mosque of Baiturrahim, historical perspective, King Botutihe, Qibla direction

Abstract

The Great Mosque of Baiturrahim as one of the historical mosques established during the time of King Botutihe has historical value in the practice of determining the direction of the qibla which at that time still used a traditional approach based on natural phenomena. Along with the development of technology, smartphone-based applications such as Easy Qiblah offer convenience in determining the direction of the Qibla practically and quickly. This study aims to analyze the accuracy of determining the direction of the qibla of the Great Mosque of Baiturrahim using the Easy Qiblah application in a historical perspective. The method used is descriptive-analytical with a comparative approach between the results of application measurements and astronomical hisab calculations. The results showed that the Easy Qiblah application had a fairly high level of accuracy with a relatively small deviation, although it was still influenced by technical factors such as sensor calibration and magnetic field interference. This study confirms that the use of modern technology can be an effective tool in verifying the direction of the Qibla, while complementing the traditional methods that have been used since the time of King Botutihe. The integration between historical approaches and modern technology is important in an effort to improve the accuracy of the direction of the qibla without ignoring the historical values inherent in historic mosques.

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