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Prophet Muhammad's hijra ("flight" or "migration") from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD marks the beginning of the Islamic lunar calendar (also known as the Hijri or Arabic Calendar). Thus, the Islamic calendar dates have the suffix AH (After Hijra). The Islamic lunar year (354 or 355 days) is between 10 and 12 days shorter than the "Western" or "Christian" Gregorian solar year (365 or 366 days)[1], and so cycles through the seasons.[2][3][4] The Islamic calendar is used in conjunction with the Gregorian calendar in some parts of the Muslim world, and is almost always referenced in relation to Islamic rituals (like the Hajj) and festivals (like Eid al-Adha), as it is with the Islamic calendar that these event correlate.
Calendar
Islamic Lunar Months
| No.
|
Name
|
Arabic
|
Meaning
|
Note
|
| 1
|
Muḥarram
|
ٱلْمُحَرَّم
|
forbidden
|
This is the first "sacred" month in the Islamic lunar calendar
|
| 2
|
Ṣafar
|
صَفَر
|
void
|
|
| 3
|
Rabī‘ al-awwal
|
رَبِيع ٱلْأَوَّل
|
the first spring
|
|
| 4
|
Rabī‘ ath-ākhar
|
رَبِيع ٱلْآخَر
|
the second spring
|
|
| 5
|
Jumādá al-ūlá
|
جُمَادَىٰ ٱلْأُولَىٰ
|
the first of parched land
|
|
| 6
|
Jumādá al-ākhirah
|
جُمَادَىٰ ٱلْآخِرَة
|
the second of parched land
|
|
| 7
|
Rajab
|
رَجَب
|
respect, honour
|
This is the second "sacred" month in the Islamic lunar calendar
|
| 8
|
Sha‘bān
|
شَعْبَان
|
scattered
|
|
| 9
|
Ramaḍān
|
رَمَضَان
|
burning heat
|
This is the month in which the ritual of fasting, one of the five pillars of Islam, is carried out
|
| 10
|
Shawwāl
|
شَوَّال
|
raised
|
|
| 11
|
Dhū al-Qa‘dah
|
ذُو ٱلْقَعْدَة
|
the one of truce/sitting
|
This is the third "sacred" month in the Islamic lunar calendar
|
| 12
|
Dhū al-Ḥijjah
|
ذُو ٱلْحِجَّة
|
the one of pilgrimage
|
This is the month in which the ritual of Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, is carried out
This is the fourth "sacred" month in the Islamic lunar calendar
|
Islamic Week Days
| No.
|
Name
|
Arabic
|
Meaning
|
Gregorian Equivilant
|
Note
|
| 1
|
al-ʾAḥad
|
ٱلْأَحَد
|
the one
|
Sunday
|
|
| 2
|
al-ʾIthnayn
|
ٱلْإِثْنَيْن
|
the second
|
Monday
|
Muslims are encouraged to fast on Mondays, as it is the day that Muhammad is said to have been born on
|
| 3
|
ath-Thulāthāʾ
|
ٱلثُّلَاثَاء
|
the third
|
Tuesday
|
|
| 4
|
al-ʾArbiʿāʾ
|
ٱلْخَمِيس
|
the fourth
|
Wednesday
|
|
| 5
|
al-Khamīs
|
ٱلْخَمِيس
|
the fifth
|
Thursday
|
|
| 6
|
al-Jumʿah
|
ٱلْجُمْعَة
|
the gathering
|
Friday
|
This is the day on which Muslim men are required (fard) to participate in a congregational prayer, generally referred to as the Jumu'ah prayer
|
| 7
|
as-Sabt
|
ٱلسَّبْت
|
the rest
|
Saturday
|
|
Origins
The Islamic lunar calendar is the same calendar that was used by the pre-Islamic pagan Arabs, as it refers to the lunar months by the same names and sanctifies the very four of the twelve months that were considered sacred by Arabs in the pre-Islamic period.
However, there were some changes made: whereas the pre-Islamic Arabs allowed a practice Nasi' whereby they would either choose a different set of four months to deem sacred or move about holy festivals to a more appropriate seasons (since the lunar calendar cycles through the seasons), the Islamic calendar system prohibited this practice.[5][6] Some scholars suggest that Nasi' was in fact a practice where the pre-Islamic Arabs used to occasionally add an "intercalary" month in order to move religious festivals into more lucrative business seasons, rather than simply shifting the date of these festivals, though this is uncertain.[7][8] Whatever the case, this too was prohibited by the Islamic lunar calendar.
Challenges
Moon sighting
Relevant quotations
Qur'an
The Qur'an refers to the month of Ramadan:
The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for mankind, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the Criterion (of right and wrong). And whosoever of you is present, let him fast the month, and whosoever of you is sick or on a journey, (let him fast the same) number of other days. Allah desireth for you ease; He desireth not hardship for you; and (He desireth) that ye should complete the period, and that ye should magnify Allah for having guided you, and that peradventure ye may be thankful.
The Qur'an states that there are twelve months, four of them are sacred:
Lo! the number of the months with Allah is twelve months by Allah's ordinance in the day that He created the heavens and the earth. Four of them are sacred: that is the right religion. So wrong not yourselves in them. And wage war on all of the idolaters as they are waging war on all of you. And know that Allah is with those who keep their duty (unto Him).
The Qur'an describes the "sacred" months (shar al-haram, sometimes translated as the "holy" or "prohibited" - that is, sanctified - months):
A sacred month is for a sacred month; these sacrednesses are in retaliation. Whosoever then offereth violence unto you, Offer violence unto him the like of his violence unto you, and fear Allah, and know that Allah is with the God-fearing.
They question thee (O Muhammad) with regard to warfare in the sacred month. Say: Warfare therein is a great (transgression), but to turn (men) from the way of Allah, and to disbelieve in Him and in the Inviolable Place of Worship, and to expel His people thence, is a greater with Allah; for persecution is worse than killing. And they will not cease from fighting against you till they have made you renegades from your religion, if they can. And whoso becometh a renegade and dieth in his disbelief: such are they whose works have fallen both in the world and the Hereafter. Such are rightful owners of the Fire: they will abide therein.
O ye who believe! Profane not Allah's monuments nor the Sacred Month nor the offerings nor the garlands, nor those repairing to the Sacred House, seeking the grace and pleasure of their Lord. But when ye have left the sacred territory, then go hunting (if ye will). And let not your hatred of a folk who (once) stopped your going to the inviolable place of worship seduce you to transgress; but help ye one another unto righteousness and pious duty. Help not one another unto sin and transgression, but keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is severe in punishment.
Allah hath appointed the Ka'bah, the Sacred House, a standard for mankind, and the Sacred Month and the offerings and the garlands. That is so that ye may know that Allah knoweth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, and that Allah is Knower of all things.
The Qur'an references the day of al-Jumu'ah (Friday) as it mentions the Friday Prayer:
O ye who believe! When the call is heard for the prayer of the day of congregation, haste unto remembrance of Allah and leave your trading. That is better for you if ye did but know.
Hadith
This hadith identifies the four months which are "sacred":
Narrated Abu Bakr:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Time has come back to its original state which it had when Allah created the Heavens and the Earth; the year is twelve months, four of which are sacred. Three of them are in succession; Dhul-Qa'da, Dhul-Hijja and Al-Muharram, and (the fourth being) Rajab Mudar (named after the tribe of Mudar as they used to respect this month) which stands between Jumad (ath-thani) and Sha'ban."
This hadith identifies Monday as the day of Muhammad's birth and prophet-hood, all in the context of why it is important to fast on Mondays
Abu Qatada al-Ansari (Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was asked about his fasting. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) felt annoyed. Thereupon 'Umar (Allah be pleased with him) said:
We are pleased with Allah as the Lord, with Islam as our Code of Life, with Muhammad as the Messenger and with our pledge (to you for willing and cheerful submission) as a (sacred) commitment. He was then asked about perpetual fasting, whereupon he said: He neither fasted nor did he break it, or he did not fast and he did not break it. He was then asked about fasting for two days and breaking one day. He (the Holy Prophet) said: And who has strength enough to do it? He was asked about fasting for a day and breaking for two days, whereupon he said: May Allah bestow upon us strength to do it. He was then asked about fasting for a day and breaking on the other, whereupon he said: That is the fasting of my brother David (peace be upon him). He was then asked about fasting on Monday, whereupon he said: It was the day on which I was born. on which I was commissioned with prophethood or revelation was sent to me, (and he further) said: Three days' fasting every month and of the whole of Ramadan every year is a perpetual fast. He was asked about fasting on the day of 'Arafa (9th of Dhu'I-Hijja), whereupon he said: It expiates the sins of the preceding year and the coming year. He was asked about fasting on the day of 'Ashura (10th of Muharram), whereupon be said: It expiates the sins of the preceding year. (Imam Muslim said that in this hadith there is a) narration of Imam Shu'ba that he was asked about fasting on Monday and Thursday, but we (Imam Muslim) did not mention Thursday for we found it as an error (in reporting).
See Also
References
- ↑ Syed Khalid Shaukat - What is Islamic Calendar - MissionIslam
- ↑ Introduction to Calendars. United States Naval Observatory. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
- ↑ Calendars by L. E. Doggett. Section 2.
- ↑ The international standard for the representation of dates and times, ISO 8601, uses the Gregorian calendar. Section 3.2.1.
- ↑ The Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd edition, Index, p. 441.
- ↑ Muḥammad al-Khuḍarī Bayk (1935). Muḥāḍarāt tārīkh al-Umam al-Islāmiyya. 2 (4th ed.). Al-maktaba al-tijāriyya. pp. 59–60.
- ↑ al-Biruni (tr. C. Edward Sachau (1879). "Intercalation of the Ancient Arabs", The Chronology of Ancient Nations. London: William H. Allen, 1000/1879. pp. 13–14, 73–74.
- ↑ Bonner 2011, page 21.