Calendar, Islamic

The Islamic or Hijri calendar has 354 days in a year, divided into 12 lunar months of either 29 or 30 days (29.5 days is the time taken by the moon to complete a full circle around the earth). This calendar is used in many Islamic countries as the primary way to date events, and by all devout Muslims to track the observance of Islamic holy days. The Hijri calendar is named for the year 622 CE, when the Hijra occurred—theemigrationoftheProphetMuhammad and some of his followers from Mecca to Medina to escape their enemies. Islamic years are labeled as AH (from the Latin phrase anno Hegirae, or “in the year of the Hijra”); for example, the Gregorian year 2008 CE corresponds to 1429 AH in the Islamic calendar. The Hijri calendar first came into use in 638 CE, when it was introduced in Medina by Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab, a close companion of Muhammad.

Because the lunar year is shorter than the solar year (the time taken by the earth to complete a full circle around the sun), fixed events or celebrations in the Islamic calendar fall 11 days earlier with each successive solar year, taking 33 years to move through the entire cycle of the solar calendar. The calendar used in Arabia prior to the introduction of the Islamic calendar was a luniso-lar calendar that used lunar months, but that occasionally had an additional intercalary month inserted in order to keep the calendar in alignment with the natural seasons arising from the sun's annual peregrinations. The Qur'an forbids this practice in Surah 9, verses 36–37, which state that God has ordained a fixed number of months (12) each year, and that transposing of additional months is arbitrary and is an act of Unbelief.

The first day of each Hijri year is called Ras as-Sana (“head of the year”), and the names of the 12 months of the year reflect their origins in more ancient systems for marking the solar seasons. The [Page 132]months are Mubarram (the sacred month), Safar (the month that is void), Rabi' al-awwal (the first spring), Rabi' al-than (the second spring), Jumada al-awwa (the first month of dryness), jumada al-tbani (the second month of dryness), Rajab (the revered month), Sba'aban (the month of division), Ramadan (the month of great heat), Sbawwal (the month of hunting), Dbu al-Qi'dab (the month of rest), and Dbu-al-Hijjab (the month of pilgrimage). Four of these months (Dbu al-Qi'dab, Dbu-al-Hijjab, Mubarram, and Rajab) are considered sacred, because fighting was traditionally forbidden during them, and sins and good deeds carried more weight at these times than during the rest of the year. Ramadan is the month when Muslims focus on the moral and spiritual elements of life, fulfilling the fourth pillar of Islam (sawm or fasting) by practicing abstinence and fasting each day from sunrise until sunset, and by engaging in self-reflection and acts of kindness and generosity. During the month of Dhu-al-Hijjah, devout Muslims fulfill the fifth pillar of Islamic religious obligation (bajj) by making a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Two major festivals are universally celebrated by all Muslims; these are Id al-Adba (the Festival of Sacrifice), and Id al-Fatir (the Festival of Breaking of the Fast). Id al-Adha occurs on the tenth day of the month of Dhu-al-Hijjah, signaling the official end of the hajj pilgrimage with communal prayer and the sacrifice of animals. Id al-Fatir is celebrated for 3 days at the end of Ramadan; it marks the end of a full month of fasting with acts that honor God's benevolence, including feasting, gift-giving, visiting friends and family, and helping the poor.

...