Points of the compass Points of the compass The points of the compass mark the divisions on a compass, which is primarily divided into the four cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west. These points are further subdivided by the addition of the four intercardinal (or ordinal) directions—northeast (NE), southeast (SE), southwest (SW), and northwest (NW)—to indicate the eight principal winds. In meteorological usage, further intermediate points between the cardinal and intercardinal directions, such as north-northeast (NNE) are added to give the sixteen points of a compass rose. At the most complete division are the full thirty-two points of the mariner's compass, which adds
Qibla compass Qibla compass A Qibla compass or qiblah compass (sometimes also called qibla/qiblah indicator) is a modified compass used by Muslims to indicate the direction to face to perform ritual prayers. In Islam, this direction is called qibla, and points towards the city of Mecca and specifically to the Ka'abah. While the compass, like any other compass, points north, the direction of prayer is indicated by marks on the perimeter of the dial, corresponding to different cities, or by a second pointer set by the user according to their own location. Al-Biruni wrote his book (Kitab Tahdid al-Amakin, or the demarcation