

Rajab may also be related to a verb meaning “to remove”, so called because pre-Islamic Arabs would remove the heads of their spears and refrain from fighting. This is the second sacred month in which fighting is forbidden. The Arabic word ‘Rajab’ mean ‘respect/honour’. This is the sixth Islamic month and the second month of parched land. Often considered the pre-Islamic summer, Jumāda may also be related to a verb meaning “to freeze” and another account relates that water would freeze during this time of year. Others refer to the month as Rabi-Al Akhir which means the end of spring time. The Arabic words ‘Rabi-Al Thanni’ mean ‘the second spring’.

Rabi Al-Awwal is a very holy month for many Muslims as the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) was born in this month. The name also means to graze, because cattle were grazed during this month. This is the third Islamic month, the Arabic words ‘Rabi-Al Awwal’ mean ‘the first spring’. Supposedly named thus because pre-Islamic Arab houses were empty this time of year while their occupants gathered food.Īnother account relates that they used to loot the houses of their enemies after defeating them in battle, leaving nothing behind. This is the second Islamic month, the Arabic word ‘Safr’ means ‘void’ Muḥarram includes ‘Āshūrā’, the tenth day. The Arabic word ‘Muharram’ means ‘forbidden’, this is so because battles and all kinds of fighting were forbidden (ḥarām) during this month. This is the first month on the Islamic calendar the Islamic New Year, also known as Arabic New Year or Al Hijrii starts on the first day of Muharram. Muslims use the sighting of the moon, which is why virtually none of the 12 months have exact number of days compared to the Gregorian calendar.īelow are the 12 Islamic months, their meaning and significance. The Islamic calendar comprises 12 months and reads 1442 AH (1,442 years after Hijrah). This method is used routinely by some Islamic communities but regarded by others as just an aid to securing a successful observation.Why We Didn’t Declare Hijrah Holiday - Oyo GovtĮvery month symbolizes a particular meaning and comes in a systematic way. One option is to use the tabular Islamic calendar, which predicts the moment of waxing crescent moon assuming perfect visibility. For desert communities, cloud-cover is rarely a problem but that is not true for people who live in the rain forest. Whether or not the first crescent moon is actually visible differs by location. But that "a little over" is 44 minutes every month so, to keep the calendar in step with reality, an extra day is needed nearly every third year, so these years are 355 days long. In most years, that means that a year of 12 calendar months last 354 days. So a 29-day month is followed by a 30-day month (29+30 is the same as 29.5+29.5). For convenience, a month is the Islamic calendar is either 29 days or 30 days, one after the other. A lunar month (one new moon to the next) lasts a little over 29.5 days. The "waxing crescent Moon" is the phase of the Moon which starts right after a New Moon. A new month can only begin after a " waxing crescent Moon" is observed shortly after sunset. The timing of the months in the Islamic calendar is determined by direct observation of the Moon. Two Islamic countries (Iran and Afghanistan) use a different calendar, the Solar Hijri Calendar ("SH"). The current Islamic Calendar year is 1445 AH (AH = Latin: Anno Hegiræ = Year of the Hijra.) Islamic years are often called hijra years, because the first year of the calendar when the hijra occurred, that is when Prophet Muhammad went from Mecca to Medina. This means that each year of the Hijri calendar is about 11 days shorter than a solar calendar such as the Gregorian.

Its year has 12 months of 29 or 30 days, and lasts a total of 354 or 355 days. It is a lunar calendar: it uses the phases of the Moon (rather the Earth's orbit of the Sun) to count the passing of time. It is used to determine Islamic holidays in most of Islam. The Islamic calendar or Hijri calendar ( Arabic: التقويم الهجري) is a calendar.
